Change
by A fool who thinks they're wise
Summary: Hiccup remembers everything-except how he died. Now all of a sudden he's tossed into a bag and magic portal and told by some (actually really pretty) bird-fairy lady, a bipedal bunny, a big man with snow white hair, and an (extremely attractive) Jack Frost, that the man in moon that has ignored him ever since he woke up has made him a Guardian. Which is what exactly? Slash.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all!  
So this is my first crossover fanfic, and my first fanfic for Hijack! Woot!  
*celebratory music plays*  
Seeing as this is Hijack, it will contain slash, so if that bothers you, please turn back now.  
You have been forewarned!  
sidenote: Odin's wagon is Ursus Major.  
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, or Rise of The Guardians, those belong to Dreamworks.

* * *

Hiccup remembers waking up.  
He remembers his eyes slowly flickering open amid the pounding headache and blinking several times as he struggled to clear the fog that had settled over his mind. He remembers feeling the gentle movement of Toothless's sides as they rose and fell with his deep breaths. The familiar feeling grounded him, collecting and focusing his scattered consciousness on his surroundings.

"Hey, Toothless, where are we?" He pushed the words out of his numb mouth as he stretched, trying to chase away the tingling sensation that pervaded his whole body. His bright green eyes took in the rocky shore of the beach that he was lying on as he tried to remember why he was here and not in his warm bed. The bright light of the moon cut through the darkness and allowed him to make out the sea as it lapped softly on the rocky beach and the harsh edges of the rocks. Images flickered through his foggy mind and seemed to sneak around the edges of awareness, not allowing him to gather any information from them. Despite the gnawing feeling that was tugging at his gut, he decided that it was probably some prank that the twins and Snotlout had pulled.

"Guess those guys just haven't had **enough** to do lately." He shook his head in disbelief and let out a grunt of frustration before pushing himself up with the help of toothless, who was blinking his cat-like green eyes in confusion, with a hint of worry and caution and thrown in. He flipped his ears from side to side, looking for any sign of life. Hiccup followed suit, darting his eyes in every which direction, looking for any sign of…well…anything. The feeling in his stomach was getting more intense by the moment and he swallowed, hating the fact that it sounded so loud amid the soft lapping of the sea and the murmur of the wind. He shook his head as though doing so would shake the darkness and fear from his mind.  
_"Buck up!" _He told himself sternly. _"You're a __**sixteen**__ year old __**Viking**__! You defeated the Red Death for Pete's sake! There is nothing here for you to be afraid of!"  
_

Even so, he felt his grip on toothless tighten as he swung up on his back and clicked his prosthetic leg into place.  
"C'mon Bud," He murmured softly in Toothless's ear, "Let's go home."  
Toothless grunted his agreement before spreading his wings and taking off into the sky.  
Hiccup felt some of the tension bleed out of his body as the wind began to run over his body and through his hair. He took in a few deep breaths to try and chase out the gnawing feeling that was still settled in his gut, but nothing happened. Shaking off the worry that this caused, he raised his eyes forward and looked for any kind of sign that would tell him where he was and how he could get back to Berk. The sea stretched out endlessly on all sides, yielding no answers.  
The gnawing feeling in his gut spread and pushed his heart into his throat.

"Calm down, remember what Gobber said, there's always the stars." Raising his eyes to the inky black that above him, he studied the stars, looking for the familiar constellations that were his allies on nights when he and toothless had lost track of time and found themselves several miles from home in the dark. He soon located Odin's wagon and found himself letting out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.

"Odin's wagon, alright, judging by where it is, that means that Berk should be about two hundred miles to the east. Let me think…going at a non-exhausting pace that's…two and a half hours away, great. The first thing we'll do once we finally get there is set Snotlout's and Ruffnut and Tuffnut's houses on fire." He let out a sigh and nudged Toothless to right with his knee accompanied by a tug on the saddle. "C'mon bud, we've got a lot of flying to do." Toothless grumbled and angled his body along with Hiccup's nudging, allowing the two to change direction. As Hiccup watched the sea rush past them, he allowed his mind to wander, trying to come up with some reason why he was on that beach.

The last two years had been…hectic to say the least; after his failure to convince Hiccup to teach them how to train dragons, Alvin had given up and decided to take a different approach in his revenge against Stoick and Berk. Thanks to him, the truth about Berk and their relationship with Dragons had been fully revealed to the Berserker tribe and most importantly to Dagur, who took full advantage of the fact that he now had a "justifiable" reason to wage war on Berk. Ironically, it was only thanks to the Dragons that they had managed to beat back the armada. But Dagur was not one to be discouraged so easily; after all, he couldn't let the Berserker name be disparaged, now could he? Instead, his attacks had gotten more haphazard and sneaky, entering from different positions on the island every time before infiltrating the village; killing everything that stood in his way. Whether it was trees, houses, dragons or people, he didn't seem to care as long as he got to go wild.

Like Gober had said, he really did have a grasp on the whole "deranged" thing.

Stoick had spent the last year strengthening the Island's defenses and trying to remain one step ahead of Dagur, refusing to pay attention to the new worry lines and grey hairs that seemed to appear every time that Hiccup looked at him. In response to that, Hiccup tried to ignore the fact that his Dad's normally crushing hugs had moved past the bone-breaking level and landed on bone shattering. He also tried to ignore the way that Stoick continuously told him how proud he was of him and what a good job he was doing organizing and training more dragon riders, and how his voice always seemed to break at the end of his sentences. Soon though, that would be a thing of the past.

For better or worse, he didn't know yet.

A team of scouts had spotted Dagur's camp from the sky on one of the neighboring islands and, by the luck of the gods, they had managed to make it back without being seen and were competent enough to remember the location when they reported it back to Stoick. The man had jumped up with energy that Hiccup hadn't seen for a long time and rushed to call everyone—well, everyone that was left—to the feasting hall. Hiccup had followed him close behind, taking care to study his features, making sure that he didn't lose this newfound strength and collapse on his way up the steps. Once everyone had gathered, Stoick explained his plan to attack the Berserkers and end this tiresome war once and for all. A spark of hope jumped from his tired eyes into the ones that stood watching him and a feeling equal parts dread and relief fell over the hall. They would have to move fast as possible, just on the off chance that the scouts had been seen by the Berserkers.

The village came alive with a hum as people scurried about preparing weapons and provisions for the battle, Hiccup stood silently watching them, keeping an eye on Gobber and Stoick as they argued out of his peripheral vision. Gobber appeared to be trying to convince Stoick stay behind, a plan that was bound to fail before it began. Eventually, Stoick shook him off before making his way over to where Hiccup stood and laying a hand on his shoulder. The two watched the villagers scurry about for a moment before Stoick broke the silence.  
"You know, we should really leave some Dragon Riders here to protect the town incase this is all part of some elaborate plan on Dagur's part." Stoick said quietly, pretending to stroke his beard thoughtfully, as though the thought had just occurred to him.

Hiccup saw through it immediately.

He snorted. "I seriously doubt that Dagur has the mental capacity to plan something like this, I also strongly suspect that most of his attacks were planned by someone that is far, far more competent than he will ever be." He sighed. " But you're right, we should be cautious" He pretended not to see the horribly masked relief that lit up Stoick's face. "We should bring Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and twins with us, they're the most experienced. I'll tell the others to stay here." He started to make his way towards the cluster of houses below before he felt himself pulled backwards by Stoick.  
"Don't you think that, maybe, you should stay here to co-ordinate the others? I mean they'll need someone to organize them should Dagur attack, right?" Stoick's worry was obvious now, and Hiccup took a deep breath before turning to face his father with a wry grin.

"Dad, you and I both know that trying to convince either of us not to go would be pointless. After all, we both have that wonderful Viking stubbornness in us. And besides," He shrugged. "It's a occupational hazard; right?"  
Stoick's face sagged as he sighed, recognizing the hopelessness of the situation. Hiccup felt his heart twinge at the expression on his face and reached forward to try and encircle Stoick's vastness. After a moment, he felt Stoick's arms wrap around his still slender frame and draw him closer.  
"Just…promise me, that you'll be safe out there, alright?"  
Hiccup tightened his grip on Stoick before muttering his reply.  
"Only if you promise too."  
Stoick chuckled slightly and nodded, they stayed still for a moment more before Stoick reluctantly withdrew his arms and Hiccup let his fall to his side.  
"Alright, well, I'm going to go help the others prepare for tomorrow. You settle things with the other dragon riders and then head to bed, all right? You're gonna need lots of energy tomorrow." Stoick called back as he made his way down the stairs.  
"Makes sure you rest up too!" Hiccup called after him, feeling his heart sink at the knowledge that it probably wouldn't happen.

So he had ambled down to the village and called the dragon riders together before informing them of what he and Stoick had discussed. Snotlout and the twins appeared to be excited to be going, a sure sign that their Viking spirit killing spirit was alive and well. Astrid took the news with a grim nod and placed a hand on Fishlegs' shaking form as he tried to put on a brave face. The ones that were told to stay behind took the news as could be expected. Inaudible sighs of relief from one half, cries of outrage from the other. After a much longer time than he would have appreciated spent convincing the ones that complained that they were actually playing a very vital role and reassuring the others that they would most likely not be in any real danger, Hiccup began to make his way back to the house, only to be pulled aside by Astrid.  
"Are you sure?" She asked, unable to hide the hope flickering through her tone, which made Hiccup feel like that much more of an asshole.

He put his hand over hers and pulled it away from his arm.  
"I'm sure." He told her, in the most gentle but firm voice that he could muster. He watched her eyes dim and her face rearrange into one of resignation. "I **am **sorry."  
She shook her head and gave him a half smile.  
"Hey, nothing lasts forever, right?"  
Hiccup didn't say anything; he couldn't seem to find the right words to fit the situation and eventually Astrid gave him a soft punch on his arm before walking back to her house. Hiccup watched her go before turning and walking towards his own house. Pushing open the groaning wooden door, he made his way up the stairs to his bed, not even stopping to undress before flopping on his bed and curling up in a ball. Toothless got up from his spot on the floor and nudged his back in greeting. Hiccup raised a hand to nuzzle his scaly head gently before letting it fall back to the bed as sleep gradually took over him.

And that, try as he might, was the last thing that he remembered.

He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head, hoping that enough force would shake the memory lose from it's hiding spot and provide him with the answers that he so desperately needed. Unfortunately, the gods had apparently decided that it just wasn't going to be that easy for him.  
Frustration mounting, he opened his eyes and instantly felt some of it drain away at the sight before him. The looming shadow of Berk was a welcome sight to Hiccup's tired eyes.  
"Hey, we made it Bud," He patted Toothless between his ears. "We're home."  
As they drew nearer and nearer to Berk, he waited for the familiar buildings to come into view and for the scent of smoked cod to reach his nostrils. But even as they drew nearer and nearer, the buildings never came into sight.  
"What-what's going on?" Hiccup felt the gnawing crawl further up his body and form a lump in his throat as his heart skipped several beats.

He and Toothless thumped down onto what used to be the center of his village. He unclicked his leg and slid off Toothless to the ground below, not believing his eyes.  
Where his village had once stood was nothing but empty fields of grass with pieces of stone and rusted metal scattered haphazardly throughout them. He ran though the fields, looking for the places that had been with him all of his life: Gobber's workshop, his house, Astrid's house, the docks, the armory; but all of them were gone. Nothing remaining to show that they had ever been there, that they had even existed at all.  
"No." He breathed, desperation and denial stealing the air from his lungs. He spun around to the feasting hall, managing to locate the stone steps leading up to—  
the rocks that had served as the foundation of the once, magnificent building, reduced to nothing but rubble.

He fell to his knees.

"This, this, this can't be happening." He told himself. "This is obviously just some crazy dream. Yeah…yeah that's it! It was probably that cod that I had for dinner a few nights ago, it did smell kinda fishy—well more fishy than normal." He was babbling now. "All I have to do to fix this is just…wake up!" He screwed his eyes shut for a moment before forcing them open again. To his dismay, his surroundings were just as he left them.

He tried again.

Still here.

He tried again.

Still here.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, PLEASE." He cried. He raised his eyes to the sky as the moon watched on solemnly.

"Please, Odin; please just let me wake up."

Nothing answered his plea but the rustle of wind through the trees and a bitter chill that pierced his clothing and caused shivers to run down his spine.  
He felt tears fill his eyes and begin to slip down his cheeks.

Toothless carefully padded over and nuzzled Hiccup, licking the tears away with his tongue. Hiccup wrapped his arms around Toothless's neck and buried his face in it, a last resort to shut out the cruel reality that surrounded him.  
He remembers sobbing and screaming and cursing and sobbing again until his throat was sore. He remembers the pain and fear that coursed through his veins as he realized that it was really only he and Toothless now. The realization that everyone that he had ever loved and cared about was gone, almost like sand that had been blown away in the wind, was carved deep into his very being. He remembers the anger that pumped through his body as the notion that it was Dagur who had caused this raced through his mind, before the nagging voice of reason pointed out that it was fairly impossible for Dagur to have destroyed his entire village and not left a single mark. Because though the buildings were nothing but scattered pieces of stone, the grass that had endeavored to cover these revenants up was not damaged in any way, and looked as though it had gone undisturbed for a very, very long time. Confusion set in then, adding to the mess of emotions that were already raging within him.  
"How…how is this even possible?" Desperation occupied his broken voice. "W-What in Thor's name is going on?"

And then he remembers the gentle not-voice that permeated through his mind.  
_  
Hiccup_.

He raised his head and looked around for the source.  
_  
Hiccup look up.  
_  
He lifted his head and saw the moon, shining brightly above him with a light that seemed to cut through the darkness surrounding and within him.  
_  
Hiccup. It's going to be alright, don't worry.  
_  
"Don't-Don't worry?" He croaked out in disbelief. "My entire village is reduced to nothing and you're telling me not to worry? Just who in Odin's name are you?! Do you know what happened here?! Tell me!"

But the voice had gone silent.

And that is the last time Hiccup remembers the man in the moon talking to him.

* * *

The nightmares still clawed at him, biting and tearing at his clothes and hair, perpetually keeping him the victim of his own fear. He had tried to fight them off in the beginning, only to have them retreat a distance and begin circling again, an endless cycle. He had screamed and cursed in the beginning, but eventually had fallen silent, his terror causing him to be physically rendered mute. He watched with wide eyes as they circled him again, golden orbs darting from side to side.

How long had this been going? It felt like an eternity, trapped in this endless cycle of fear.  
He clutched his knees closer to his body, his fingernails digging even deeper into his legs as he did so. He bit the side of his lip, worrying the skin between his teeth as a drop of blood began ran down the side of his chin.  
_"Those damn goody-two-shoes oh look at me I'm so wonderful and lovely and believed in __**Guardians**__, will pay for this."_ He vowed, pain briefly overcoming the fear enough for his resentment and white-hot fury to flicker to life again. _"And they will pay dearly. Especially that __**absolutely**__ infuriating __**teenager,**__ Jack Frost."  
_

The tiny droplet of blood fell from his chin and through a crack in the stone platform he was curled up towards the dark depths of his cavern. Falling down to where he hadn't travelled for a very, very long time. The sparkling ruby droplet fell silently through the darkness until striking a certain body that had lain forgotten on the bottom of the cavern for several centuries. A morbid testament to all of his failures to challenge the moon and actually win; in Pitch's mind at least. The red liquid soaked through what remained of the frayed twelve hundred year old material and onto the perfectly persevered body that it covered. The ruby droplet, and the malice, resentment, hate and fury that it had brought with it, had a profound effect on the body.

Colour began to return to the corpse's pale skin as a stone heart caused blood to once again thrum beneath its veins. Slowly, deep green eyes opened and observed their surroundings, catching the sound of faint whimpers and loud whinnies coming from somewhere far above them. Slowly sitting up, the figure crouched before extending its legs and trying to leap out of the dark pit that it was in, mouth giving a cry of surprise when it found itself soaring several miles up into the air and out of the pit. The nightmares reared their legs up in the air, startled by the stranger's arrival. The once-corpse regarded the nightmares with shock for a moment before a malicious grin spread across its features. With a maniacal laugh, the now-spirit rocketed towards the nightmares at breakneck speed, drawing a dagger from his belt and slashing at them as he went. The creatures blew apart and returned to nothing more than the black dust that they had been created from. The new spirit regarded the area around it with an intense excitement and bloodlust reflected in its gleaming eyes, searching for something else to tear apart.

Pitch regarded the new spirit and his savior in shock, the realization that he was finally free from the nightmares that had caged him numbing his mind. When the numbness had receded, a maniacal laugh bubbled up through his throat and escaped into the silence that surrounded them. The spirit jumped around and raised his dagger to attack, only to have it pulled out of his grip by Pitch's shadow.

"Ah, ah, ah." Pitch croaked, his voice hoarse from the eternity it had spent not being used. "Let's just calm down for a moment here, hmm? I have a few things that you might like to hear, and a little proposition for you too." He smirked. "It will involve a lot of fighting though, are you up for it?"  
The spirit grinned.

* * *

North sang along to one of his favorite records as he watched his newest creation fly around the room, a proud grin stretching from ear to ear. He had painstakingly chiseled a lizard out of ice, careful to detail it right down to every last individual scale. He had allowed it to slowly waddle on his desk before giving it a slight prod and watching as fine ice wings extended from its back and it took off into the air, gently soaring around the workshop and breathing out a misty fog every now and then. He chuckled heartily to himself; he couldn't wait to see the expression on Jack's face when he saw it.

Unfortunately, his creation lacked the foresight to see why flying near the door would be a bad idea, what with their habits of either flying open into you or slamming shut and catching your nose in the crevice between their edges and the door frame.

This time, the creation became a victim of Phil the Yeti's remarkably bad timing.

Phil flung open the door to the workshop and sent the dragon tumbling to the ground where it shattered upon impact. North let out a cry of sorrow as he saw his once magnificent creation reduced to nothing but ice chips. "How many times must we go over this?" North groaned, his Russian accent even thicker as sorrow pervaded his tone. Phil made several gestures with his arms to convey his apologies before grunting urgently and pointing towards the globe.  
"What?" North shot up out his chair, pushing Phil to the side as he grabbed his "Nice" sword and made his way towards the globe. His eyes raked over the spinning orb, checking to make sure that nothing was out of place. Upon finding the lights shining just as bright as they ever did, he turned to face Phil with an irritated expression etched onto his bearded face.

"There's nothing wrong with the globe, you-"  
Phil cut him off with several grunts as he pointed not to the globe, but to the dashboard in front of it and, more specifically, the button that was used to call the Guardians. North turned to look at where the yeti pointed and felt his grip on the sword tighten.  
A single ray of moonlight had fallen on the button that activated the northern lights from the skylight in the ceiling of the workshop, where the moon hung silently in full view.

"Máni…you want me to call the Guardians?"

The light on the button became even more concentrated and North felt a rumbling sensation in his belly. Striding purposefully over to the button, he glanced up at the moon one more time before activating it.  
"What's going on, Máni? Why you want to gather the Guardians?" The moon's light slowly moved over to the centerpiece of the floor like it had done almost thirteen years ago when Pitch had tried to convince the children that the Guardians didn't really exist with the help of his monstrous nightmares. He shook his head; it wasn't possible; when they had beaten Pitch back in the Dark Ages he had taken hundreds of years to get back on his feet. So suffering a defeat like he had and returning after only thirteen was highly unlikely.

_"But not impossible."_ A whisper flitted through his mind.

He groaned and pinched the bridge between his eyes; didn't this guy ever learn?

A fluttering of wings and a conversation that was going a hundred miles a minute to his left alerted him to Tooth's arrival.  
"And you guys will take North America, you guys will take Asia, you guys will take Great Britain and Southern Ireland, we'll leave Europe to the European division. Oh, and you guys will take Australia and New Zealand. And you will split the rest up into three groups: South America, Africa, and the ones that will stay behind to organize the teeth, ok? Now off you go!" A rapid chirping and buzzing was heard as several mini fairies took off and headed to their respective jobs. A faint humming sound told North that a few had stayed behind incase Tooth had to send a message to the others quickly, Baby Tooth most likely among them so that she could meet up with Jack again.

A rumbling to his right and the appearance of a hole appearing along with some ill disguised grumbles alerted him to Bunnymund's presence and the soft tinkling of sand as it fell through the air announced Sandy's arrival.  
"What's wrong North?" Bunny questioned, scratching behind his ear with one of his boomerangs. Sandy formed a question mark made of sand above him and tipped his head to the side.  
"I tell you when we are all together." North waved the question away, receiving a splutter of indignation from Bunny that was quickly cut off by an elbow jab from Tooth.  
He waited for a cold chill to permeate the building, and eventually sighed and turned around when it didn't.

"Where's Jack?" He asked wearily.  
"Probably taking his sweet time, you know how he is about "deadlines" and "hard work"." Bunny supplied dryly, ignoring the stern look that he got from Tooth. He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that if we just get down to business, he'll show up eventually."  
"So, what's wrong North? Why have you summoned us here?" Tooth inquired as she flew over to where North stood, stroking his beard.

"Máni wanted me to call you all together, I think that Pitch might be up to something again."  
Sandy formed an exclamation point over his head and Bunny's grip on his boomerangs tightened; Tooth gasped and clasped her hands together anxiously. "That's impossible! It took hundreds of years for him to come back last time! It's only been, what, thirteen?"  
"Improbable, yes. Impossible? Well, nothing's really impossible it is?" North pondered quietly.

Before Bunnymund could jump in with his comment about the sheer lunacy of the idea at hand, a shadow began to form in the center of the moon's light. The guardians paused their conversation and gathered around as the image began to take form, eventually forming the familiar shape that they knew all too well.  
"Oh great, it is Pitch." Bunny complained, watching the boogeyman's shadow with a hint of annoyance crossing his features. "Didn't we just beat this guy?"  
"Wait, what's going on now?" Tooth pointed at the shadow as it began to morph into a different shape, Pitch's spiky hair turning into a horned helmet, his arms becoming slightly bulkier and covered in what appeared to be armor. Before their eyes the shadow began to move erratically, head tipped backwards as the mouth opened and let out a maniacal laugh, sharp teeth displayed fully for all to see.

Tooth and sandy winced at the sound, while Bunny's nose and ears twitched. North just stared at it grimly, trying to deduce who or what it could possibly be.  
The laugh seemed to grow in volume and maliciousness in the endless silence until eventually Bunny reached his limit.  
"All right, that's enough." He threw one of his boomerangs at the shadow, the shadow of the curved object disturbing the image, silencing its laugh and causing it to disappear. "Who was that joker?"  
North shook his head. "I've never seen him before."  
"A new spirit?" Tooth questioned.  
North nodded. "Probably."

"Oh that's just wonderful." Bunny muttered. "Pitch's got himself an insane little buddy, the identity and abilities of which is a complete and utter mystery to us, that most likely also wants to endanger the children. The odds are definitely on our side."  
North turned to retort, when the intensity of the moonlight increased and center of the circle opened up, revealing the crystal that was responsible for choosing new Guardians.  
"Maybe, Mani knows someone who does." North regarded the crystal with immense interest, while Bunny looked on in disbelief.  
"Hang on, hang on, didn't we **just** get a new guardian? If we keep going at this rate, every single spirit on earth is going to be a guardian by the end of the century!"  
An image was beginning to form from the top of the crystal and Tooth shushed him. Bunny crossed his arms and snorted in indignation.  
The four watched on in open or carefully hidden awe as the shape finished forming, at which point Bunny threw up his arms in exasperation.  
"I've never seen this joker before either! Are you sure that old moony up there isn't just trying to pull our leg?"  
Tooth peered closer to the image. "Is…that a dragon?"  
North squinted and his eyes furrowed in confusion, as though trying to call up a memory that had long since faded from his mind.

"And a boy…you know, I think I might know him."  
Bunny spun to face him. "Then would you mind letting the rest of us in on just who he is?"  
North shook his head.  
"It was…long time ago. Before people called Christmas…Christmas." He scratched his head. "I think I know him, but I can't remember from where."  
"Helpful." Bunny commented. "Do you happen to know where we can find him now?"  
North reached inside his cloak and pulled out a snow globe.  
"I don't have to." He replied with a grin.

* * *

Hiccup opened his eyes as the wind rushed by his face, an invigorating sense of being alive echoing throughout his body. Above him, soft cotton-candy clouds rushed past amid the warm glow of the sun. Below him the tops of the many trees that stood in the vast forest raced by.  
He leaned down to Toothless's ear:  
"You know what to do bud."

Toothless gave a rumble of agreement and excitement before dipping even lower. Hiccup sat up in the saddle and spread his arms wide, allowing the now familiar feeling to spread throughout his being and escape out the tips of his fingers in a collage of colours. As the two flew past, the leaves of the trees began to change from their ordinary green to the warm colours of autumn. He felt a laugh bubbling through his body, and soon allowed it to slip out of his mouth into the crisp air.  
"Whoohoo!" He cried, enjoying the feelings that ran rampant within him, so intense that he found it a surprise that they hadn't managed to spill into the open and flood the forest with his giddiness.

It was all over far too soon for Hiccup's liking.

But he had to admit; he liked this next part too.

The two soared upwards to admire their handiwork, the forest now a beautiful mixture of red, yellow, orange and brown tints. Hiccup gave a self-satisfied nod before nudging Toothless upwards towards the clouds above. The dragon took off and soon they were flying just below the same cotton candy-like beings. Extending his arms upwards, Hiccup ran his hands through the clouds, causing them to turn grey at his touch and release tiny droplets of rain towards the ground below. As the two continued along the clouds, the drops increased in size and frequency, and before long Hiccup and Toothless found themselves in the middle of a downpour.

Hiccup relished the feeling of rain falling gently on his skin as Toothless hovered gently in the air for a few minutes; both of them enjoying the beauty of the moment that they had created.  
Eventually, Hiccup reluctantly decided that it was time to head back.  
"Good job Toothless," He praised the dragon, "Now, I think it's about time we head back, huh?"  
Toothless grumbled his agreement again and the two set out.

* * *

Back at their cave, Toothless happily munched on some fish while Hiccup gazed out at the rain. Toothless finished his fish before glancing over and, with the air of someone who has seen the same look on a friend's face too many times to be counted, cautiously wadded over and curled up against his side. Hiccup looked to the side and felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly before falling again, a movement that had not gone unnoticed by his best friend.

Toothless nudged his head against Hiccup's hand until Hiccup began to stroke it, his cat-like eyes slowly closing while his ears remained pointed in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup felt a wry chuckle rise up at Toothless's antics before quickly petering out. He let out a sigh and leaned further into Toothless's body.  
"I know, I know, you think that we should just go out and look for people like us." Toothless harrumphed this statement approvingly. Hiccup shook his head. "It's not that simple!" Toothless cocked his head to the side and opened one emerald eye, inviting him to explain why it was oh so difficult, just like he had the other billions of times that this subject had come up.

"Well, first off, we don't even know for sure if there are other spirits out there. And even on the **insane** chance that there are, we can't be sure that they'll be friendly. What if there's some sort of "spirit code" that we've been violating since we first existed, and we've accumulated some serious punishments? And besides, I don't need anyone else but you bud, you know that." Toothless snorted and rolled his eyes. Hiccup sighed. "It's just that I can't help myself from wondering exactly what it is that we're doing here. I mean, why do we have to be there for the leaves to change colours and for it to rain? Can't the other gods do that without our help? And why did they choose me to do this? Is it some sort of punishment? Why didn't they let me go to Valhalla with the rest of the village?" He ran a hand through his hair. "And how come Máni hasn't talked to me since the day we first woke up? Did I do something wrong?"

Toothless remained silent and eventually Hiccup tore his gaze away from the falling rain and focused it on his dragon.  
"I'm sorry bud, I know I haven't been the most cheeriest person to be around since this whole thing began." He scratched Toothless gently, allowing a small smile to grow on his face at Toothless's content hum. "Thanks for being there for me. You're the best friend I could ever ask for." He rested against Toothless and allowed the warmth of his body to spread to his, letting out a sigh that was much too long for someone that looked as young as he did. "I just…I can't help but miss them sometimes, you know?" Toothless snuggled closer to him and Hiccup felt his heart warm at the gesture. The two lay there quietly for a while, gradually allowing their eyes to fall knowing that even as they did so, sleep and the blissful dreams that followed would not come to them.

They didn't even have the luxury of seeing their loved ones through dreams anymore. It was a cruel reality that had sent Hiccup further into the black tar that currently clung to him, a tar that only seemed to be blown away when they were flying together, but quickly began to stick to Hiccup again once the two were on the ground. Toothless was almost at the point where he was ready to just fly away with Hiccup until they located others like them. For there were plenty of others, he could taste their mingling scents on the wind as he and Hiccup flew. But for some reason, his friend refused to acknowledge the fact that he was lonely even though Toothless could smell it on him from a mile away.

Toothless harrumphed again and opened his eyes before flicking them towards the moon, shooting it the most contemptible look he could manage. It had been infuriatingly quiet throughout this whole thing, managing to fill Toothless with the urge to take a bite out of it on many occasions and quickly becoming the sole recipient of his anger. After his oh so helpful words of wisdom, Hiccup had wandered away from Toothless and walked up the stone steps of the feasting hall before collapsing once again on the cracked stone floor that was gradually becoming overcome by the grass like everything else around it.

For a long time, Hiccup had just sat there, staring into nothing, as though he still half hoped that this was nothing but a dream. When Hiccup had finally picked himself up and made his way over to Toothless again, he hadn't been the same. A broken husk of a boy had come in his place and Toothless had to resist the urge to wince at the difference between the two. Hiccup had pulled himself up onto Toothless's back and the two had taken off into the sky, in a direction that Hiccup murmured he had felt something in his gut was pulling him towards. They had flown for many days and nights, until reaching the rocky coast of another island. Except this one had been huge, so huge in fact that the two couldn't see the ocean on the other side of it. The two had continued to fly, looking for some sign of life on the island. Thankfully, or not depending on how you look at it, they spotted the dim glow of lights from their position in the sky. They made their way through the cloud cover and landed a short distance away in the woods. Hiccup had slipped off Toothless's back and told him to stay before taking off towards the village.

Toothless's didn't miss the desperation bubbling up inside him and the flicker of hope on the off chance that this village might know what happened to his. He watched through the tree trunks as Hiccup made his way into the center of the town and went around asking the people where he was. Toothless narrowed his eyes angrily when he saw them ignore him and Hiccup's face wrench in disappointment and confusion. Quickly, he darted in the path of a tall man who was chatting quite animatedly with the woman on his arm. Hiccup reached out his hand to try and get his attention—

but the man simply walked right through him.

Toothless's eyes flew open in surprise at the same time Hiccup's did, both their jaws dropping. Hiccup wrapped his arms around himself, running them up and down his torso to check if he really was there. Toothless rocketed out of the trees and rushed to Hiccup, nuzzling his side and doing his own check to make sure that he was there. The dragon let out a sigh of relief at the same time the air around them was pierced with a several shrill screams. They both winced and glanced around them, watching as woman and children ran from the village in a blur of moving arms and legs while men started grabbing whatever pointy object they could find and rushed towards them. Hiccup raised his arms and cried out for them to stop, but they continued running as though they couldn't hear him. Toothless picked Hiccup up with his mouth and flipped him over onto his back before growling menacingly at the men and firing a plasma blast at the ground in front of them. Hiccup quickly clicked his leg into place and the two had flown off as quickly as they could manage, only breathing again when they were high above the clouds and away from the range of the pointy objects. Hiccup had taken several deep, gasping breaths and Toothless had been worried that he might collapse. But gradually his breathing evened out and Hiccup began to breathe normally again.

But that peace was quickly disturbed by harsh sobs that wracked his body. As Hiccup's sobs intensified, the clouds above them began to band together and cover up the stars before releasing the most torrential downpour that Toothless had seen in a long time. The two were soon soaked to the skin and still Hiccup sobbed, too lost in his sorrow to be fully aware of the dangerous environment they were in. Toothless shifted his head from side, looking for any place that they could hide from the rain. Finally, he spotted a cave just a little bit ahead of them and angled his body downwards, jolting Hiccup out of his sorrow long enough for them to get down and into the shelter of the cave mouth.

The rocks were cold and hard, but even so they were dry, and that was good enough for now. Hiccup had unclicked himself from Toothless and slid off, dragging himself to the side of the cave wall and collapsing, tears mingling with the rain running down his face before escaping to the stone below. Toothless could do nothing but watch helplessly as thunder cried out in time to Hiccups sobs and lightning forked in the background, lighting up both the cave and the pain and fear on Hiccup's face before plunging them back into darkness.

That was the day that Toothless resolved to hate the man in the moon forever.

Sending a glance towards the boy currently resting against his side, all this time later, he could only feel slightly relieved at the progress that they had made. Finding out that he did still serve some purpose in this world had helped Hiccup immensely, and when he changed the colours of the leaves and caused rain to thunder upon the needy earth, Toothless got the sense that in that moment he was truly happy. But too often that moment was over far too quickly than either of them would've liked.

Sure, Hiccup was no longer that broken-husk of a boy that had stood among the ruins of everything that he had even known, but he still wasn't Hiccup again. He smiles were smaller, his laughs were wrier and he seemed to emit a permanent sense of loneliness.

Toothless sighed and closed his eyes again; what he wouldn't give for someone to finally find them.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all! ^^ Glad that you guys like the story so far.

I had lots of fun writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy~  
And now, HERE'S JACK.

* * *

It was shaping up to be another 'unusually cold for that time of year' autumn day in the town of Burgess. The store windows were lined with a thin layer of frost that created several different shapes and patterns, the identity of which varied depending on where you were standing when you looked at them. The air was filled with a cold chill and the sidewalks were slick with ice. From his position on the old clock tower, Jack Frost admired his good work with a grin. The leaves of the trees were beginning to change color and cascade towards the ground in a gentle collage. He always enjoyed this time of year; the air was beginning to gather a winter chill and the changing colours of the leaves was one of the prettiest sights of the year, but what he liked most was how it served as a constant reminder that winter was almost there. The giggling of children below caught his attention and he cast his gaze downwards to see a group of them making their way through the streets. Jumping in leaf piles on the front lawns of houses as they went, drowning out the groans of the adults that had raked them up with their squeals of glee. He chuckled and floated downwards at the appearance of an adult that he knew very well.

Twenty-three year old Jamie Bennett smiled at the kids making their way down the street and sighed half-heartedly when they jumped in the leaf piles on his lawn. Picking up his rake from where it leant against the porch, he began the process of raking the leaves up again while Jack leant on his stick and watched.  
"You sure are a good sport, Jamie." Jack told him as Jamie continued to rake leaves, oblivious to the Guardian's presence.

Unfortunately, it seemed even the legendary last light had to grow up and leave childhood and the Guardians behind at some point.

Jack tried to ignore the twinge in his heart that this caused.

He should really be used to this by now.

Sighing, Jack turned away and took off into the sky again, watching as Burgess grew smaller and smaller. Turning towards the north, he wondered whether North would mind a visit. Christmas was…almost three months away, right? He should still have plenty of time to prepare.

Ever since they defeated Pitch, Jack finally had the sense that he was doing what he was meant to do, and that he was where, and with whom, he belonged. The five Guardians had become close during the past couple of years, always making sure to try and cross paths at some point during the year. Jack caught glimpses of Sandy most nights, and made several visits to North during the course of the year, being careful to stay away when the Christmas rush came around. He popped in on Tooth and Baby Tooth now and then, just to say 'hey' and chat about how things were going. When he could, he tried to sneak into Bunny's warren and freeze whatever looked necessary to his egg hunts to going smoothly. The repercussion of which was a well-timed boomerang to the back of the head on Easter Sunday and a whisper that if he tried to spin up another blizzard like the one in '68 then it would be his last. It was more or less an empty threat though, and they both knew it, mostly due to the fact that Jack had been careful not to create blizzards on Easter Sunday anymore. But, well, everybody slips up now and then, right?  
Despite their differences, Jack couldn't help but feel that they were kind of like a family now; one that argued and didn't see each other as much as they would've liked, but a family all the same. And should any one of them run into some kind of trouble, he was confident in the knowledge that they would all band together to help out.

Deciding that North's sounded like a good idea, he called on the wind to carry him there, but before he could fly away, a sound came from below that caught his attention.  
Returning his gaze to Burgess, he frowned when the dim roar of several angry voices reached his ear. A tight feeling pulled at his gut and he plunged back towards the town below.  
Once again setting foot on the ground, he scanned the area, looking for any sign of the giggling children that he had seen just a few moments before. He finally located them at the statue in the center of town and rushed towards them, keeping an eye out for whatever it was that was making him so nervous. Upon reaching the children, he feet his jaw drop in disbelief. The same group that had been giggling happily before was now screaming and crying at each other. One blonde haired girl was tugging the hair of a freckle nosed boy, and an auburn haired boy and another ebony haired one with glasses were rolling in a ball of ill aimed fists and kicks on the ground.  
"Whoa, whoa, settle down guys." Jack used his stick to separate the children from each other in time for their mothers to come running down the street. Stepping out of the way of the incoming woman to avoid being walked through, Jack watched on in growing confusion as the woman began arguing among each other as to who had started it all. Glancing around the town, he took in the annoyed and irritated expressions of the very same people who only a few moments ago were humming slightly and going through their day with what he had thought was ambivalent attitude.

"What's going on here?" Jack questioned, looking around for some sort of answer. Out of his peripheral vision, he caught sight of blur running past into the woods beyond. Turning around, he leapt into the air and sped off towards it, the feeling in his gut intensifying as he did so. Spying the blur again through the tops of the trees a short moment later, he quickly dived and slammed into it full force before flipping backwards and dropping into his fighting stance, staff pointed at it threateningly.

The blur, which upon closer inspection proved itself to be a guy around Jack's age, give or take a few years, stood up. He groaned in pain and rubbed the side of his body that Jack had propelled himself into. Jack's eyes raked over the guy in front of him; a horned helmet adorned his head with what looked like teeth of some sort lining the middle of it and a red braid coming out the back of it. He had metal shoulder plates, a sword attached to his back, and a long sleeve shirt that covered one of his arms and left the other bare. He had three blue lines that ran across his left eye and on his bare forearm, strings wrapped around his lower arm and a spiky death trap of an elbow guard rested on the other. He was wearing a belt with a dagger strapped to the side, long pants with knee guards, boots and what looked like—

"A skirt?" Jack stared at the article of clothing for a moment before glancing up on the guy's face. "Seriously?"  
The spirit drew the dagger out of his belt and hurled it at Jack, who narrowly dodged it by stumbling to the side.  
Regaining his balance, Jack turned back to the spirit. "Dude, chill; you want to wear a skirt? That's totally cool with me. What's not cool with me is how everyone in town started acting like something came right up and bit them in the ass." Jack pulled the dagger out of the tree that it had lodged itself in and began twirling it around. "Care to explain why?"  
The spirit sneered, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. "I don't have to explain myself to you."  
Jack paused and threw him a look of mock horror. "You didn't _actually_ bite them in the ass, did you?"  
The spirit growled and lunged for Jack, who playfully darted out of his reach.  
"Geez, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." He floated up into the air, away from another attack. "And seeing as I am a Guardian, and you were messing with those kids over there, that means that you do have to explain yourself to me." He twirled his stick around in the air and pointed it at the other spirit. "So tell me who you are and what you did, otherwise things are going to get ugly."  
The spirit laughed again, high pitched and deranged sounding, teeth glinting in the sunlight. "Oh, please. You think some _stick_ is going to intimidate _me_?" He drew the sword out of its sheath and raised it high in the air. "Think again!"

He brought the sword down in sideways slash, creating a blast of heat that slammed Jack backwards with a cry of shock and pain, causing him to drop the dagger. Jack felt himself crash through several trees before finally losing momentum and hitting the ground. His whole body felt like it was on fire. He slowly and painfully pulled himself into a sitting position and looked over his body, searching for the burns that his brain told him should be there; at least according to this insane heat that was driving him crazy. He glared back through the holes that his body had made in the trees for any sign of the stranger, but could see nothing. Cursing, he pulled himself to his feet with the help of his staff and flew back over to where he had tackled the guy. The wind that ran across his body as he did so managed to cool him down again and soothe the heat. He ran a hand across the parts of his body that had been exposed to the heat and let a small sigh escape his lips when the resulting ice patterns banished the heat completely. Landing back in the center of the small clearing where he had tackled the spirit, he scanned the area for any sign of him, slamming his stick into the earth and creating an explosion of ice when he came up with nothing.

With a cry of frustration he shot back up into the air, resolving to head to North's castle like he had originally planned. Maybe the big guy would be shed some light on who that spirit was and where Jack could deliver his icy knuckle sandwich.  
As Jack turned around, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the northern lights pulsating through the air towards him. He would bet Bunny's boomerangs that the lovely little spirit he had just encountered had something to do with the aurora. Clenching his jaw as the image of the helmet-wearing spirit's smug grin came unbidden into his mind, he called upon the wind and set off towards North's castle.

* * *

When the rain finally ended, Hiccup allowed his eyes to slowly open against the intense sunlight that spilled into the cave. Yawning, he stretched and pushed himself up and away from Toothless, waking the dragon as he did so and invoking an inquiring nudge and rumble from his best friend. "Morning, bud," Hiccup told him affectionately, rubbing the underside of his chin, careful to avoid the pressure point that rendered dragons limp. "I'm just heading down to take a bath; I'll be back soon, I promise." Toothless voiced his agreement with the plan and settled back down into the rock. Hiccup smiled and made his way out of the cave mouth and into the valley below.

In retrospect, they had been very lucky when they found the cave; below it was a small clearing where an abandoned farmer's house now stood, the inhabitants of which quickly cleared out when they first heard Toothless's terrifying roar. Hiccup had felt guilty about chasing them out of their home, but when he had tried to explain that Toothless's didn't mean any harm, they had simply run through him.

Just like everyone else.

After it had become apparent that the farmer and his family weren't coming back any time soon, Hiccup had wandered through their house, feeling as though he was disturbing a tomb of sorts all the while. Eventually, he came across a bucket big enough to fit a man three times his size along with several smaller ones and a few towels. Convincing himself that they wouldn't be coming back for them, Hiccup had commandeered them and now used them to bathe.

Making his way down the rocky slope of the cave mouth, he landed on the ground with a soft thump, wincing in pain when his prosthetic pushed painfully against his flesh. Taking a deep breath, he pushed past the sting and made his way through the grassy field over to the river and the buckets. Taking in a deep breath of the crisp morning air, he felt more awake, closing his eyes briefly to listen to the soft trilling of birds. Upon reaching the river, he pulled a fluffy green towel out of the old bucket and lay it down on the grass before grabbing one of the smaller buckets and filling it up with water, peering at his reflection as he did so.

His familiar brown hair and green eyes greeted him, along with a face that had finally lost its baby fat. (A triumph that had been heavily celebrated when the discovery of it had been made.) His body, though still slender, was slight more toned that it had been when he was fourteen, muscles having built up from the time spent fighting against the Berserkers. He had grown taller, but only by six inches or so. It had made him taller than Astrid though, for which he had been eternally grateful for at the time. But that was before he had started to realize that though he had been the victim of a crush aimed at her for several years of his life, he couldn't see her as more than a friend. It was a realization that broke both their hearts, causing the loss of his first love and a inflicting a severe wound upon their friendship. A wound that they had eventually stitched up over time, but he had to admit that it was never quite the same as it had been before.

Hiccup poured the last bucket of water into the big bucket and quickly shed his clothes, making sure to take off his prosthetic leg before climbing in and enjoying the slight chill in the water. He reached down for the bar of soap that he kept in one of the other buckets, a new acquisition from one of the stores in the village that they had landed in when they first arrived here. Because, as they soon found out, although buckets last hundreds of years, towels and soap, not so much.  
To be fair, he had waited until the towel he had first gotten from the farmhouse was nothing but tiny scraps of material until he acknowledged that a new one was necessary. And although the farmer, or more likely his wife, had made plenty of bars before fleeing the clearing, and even with only Hiccup using them, after a century or two (or three) he was bound to run out.

So he and Toothless had headed towards the town, landing a short distance away before Hiccup got off and went the rest of the way on his own. It felt weird, walking through a city full of people, watching their eyes and feeling their bodies pass right through you. Hiccup kept glancing over his shoulder and around at the people in front of him, sure that somebody was going to notice him.

But no one did.

The village had changed a lot over the years, going from simple wooden houses to more complicated ones in the span of what Hiccup knew by the marks he continued to make on the cave-wall to be three hundred and three years.  
Nervously, he made his way through the town until one of the signs caught his eye.

"Bed, Bath and Beyond, huh?" He murmured to himself, surveying the building in front of him. "That sounds about right."  
He waited until a man with brown hair opened the door before rushing right through him and into the building. He shivered and clutched at his body for a moment or so afterwards, still not used to the feeling of someone passing through him. Getting a hold on himself again, he had made his way through the store until he had found the towels. He had looked through them carefully, not entirely sure what he should choose. They were a lot different to the towels that he was used to, fluffier and thicker than the scraps of old clothing that they used at home. Finally deciding on a green one, he stuffed it inside his shirt and made his way back through the store, grabbing a few bars of soap as he did so. Pausing at the door, he glanced behind him at the people working there and felt an immense twinge of guilt before pushing open the door and making his way back to Toothless.

Rinsing the soap out of his hair for a final time, he rubbed the water out of his eyes before groping over the side of the bucket for the towel. Standing up out of the water and clambering over the side of the bucket, he dried his legs and clicked the prosthetic back into place. He dried his hair and wiped his face before wrapping the towel around his slightly shivering form, grateful for the soft warmth of the sun as it filtered through the trees and onto his flesh. He took another deep breath, enjoying the serenity of the morning, before something abruptly shattered his peace by pulling him roughly into the air.

"Hey!" He cried out, fighting against the arms that held him before abandoning them to clutch his slipping towel to his body. Two hairy creatures garbled what must have been some sort of language at Hiccup while he stared on in confusion and fear. He shook his head violently and kicked his legs against the one holding him. "Let me go! Toothless!" He opened his mouth to cry out again, but found his air stolen from him and his vision blocked as he was forced inside some sort of bag. He heard Toothless roar before he felt himself being tossed from the creature's grasp and spun around in several circles before landing painfully on what felt like a stone floor. He gave a moan of pain before he heard the leathery flapping of wings and the sound of Toothless's menacing growl. He peered through the opening at the top of the bag and saw Toothless's hind leg and a bit of tail, indicating that his faithful companion was currently standing protectively in front of him, which also indicated that there was something there that Toothless thought was a threat.

Terrific.

"Would somebody calm this over-grown lizard down?"

"There, there, who's a nice dragon?"

Toothless gave another growl and Hiccup heard what sounded like a girl shrieking in fear.

"North, where's the boy that was supposed to come with this thing?"

Hiccup poked his head cautiously out of the bag before crawling out, clutching his towel to his body and observing his surroundings in wonder.

He was standing in a big stone room, with a fireplace at one end and a high ceiling, on the ground in front of him he saw what liked like tiny gnomes with red hats cowering in front of Toothless. Standing behind them and watching Toothless was a really pretty fairy-bird lady, an fairly big old man with white hair that reminded him somewhat of Stoick, a huge, bipedal, bunny with boomerangs and a small man made up of what appeared to be golden sand. Upon noticing him, the fairy-bird lady's violet eyes widened and a hum of appreciation that made him blush and realize how naked he was, escaped her and the tiny bird-fairies beside her before she quickly recollected herself and scolded the others. The bipedal bunny made eye contact before jerking his head towards Toothless in a: 'can you please get that bloody thing under control?' motion. The small Sand-man gave him a smile before forming the image of a smiling dragon above his head in sand.  
"Ah!" The old man said, looking Hiccup up and down with interest. "There you are! Were you in middle of bath? Apologies, yetis have remarkably bad timing." He stepped closer to Hiccup. "Here, I give you clothes—"

"Don't come any closer!" Hiccup cried out and Toothless hissed before letting out a plasma blast, raising his wings threateningly and scorching the stone just in front the of the man's foot. The bird fairy lady gasped and the bipedal bunny raised his boomerang above his head, preparing to throw it, only to be stopped by the old man.

"Alright." The old man took a step backwards.

Sticking close to Toothless, Hiccup regarded the strange beings in front of him with barely disguised fear.  
"W-Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Hiccup called out, a tremor running through his voice.  
"Who are we?!" The bipedal bunny cried out in disbelief. "You're joking right?"  
Hiccup shook his head and moved further behind Toothless; fear increasing, heart racing. Toothless heard the pounding of his heart and moved to block Hiccup from view.  
"Um…" The fairy bird lady said. "We're the Tooth fairy, but you can just called me Tooth, The Sandman or 'Sandy" for short, Santa Claus or 'North' and the Easter Bunny, Bunny for short." She pointed to the beings as she named them. "Surely you've heard of us?"  
Hiccup shook his head again and the Tooth Fairy's brow furrowed in confusion.  
"How can you not know who we are?" Bunny exclaimed, "We're the four original Guardians! The 'Big Four'! Have you been living under a rock or something?"  
"Guardians?" Hiccup asked, even more confused. "What's a 'Guardian'?"

Bunny groaned. "Crikey, it's not enough that we don't know who _he_ is, but now he doesn't know who _we_ are?"  
Hiccup clenched his jaw. How was he supposed to know that there was some sort of all-powerful spirits that had apparently been hanging out since the dawn of time? He had never been all that popular in life, (well, admittedly he had been quite popular after killing the red death) and not knowing for sure that other spirits like him had even existed had put a damper on his abilities to make his presence known.  
"If you don't know who I am, then why did you kidnap me?" Hiccup snapped back at them, annoyance overcoming his fear.  
"Kidnap is strong word." North said. "Besides, last person who was shoved in a bag and tossed through magic portal loved it."  
"Because the man in moon thinks that you're cut out to join our ranks." The Easter Bunny snipped back, ignoring North's comments completely. "Though how someone who doesn't even know what a Guardian is can become one is a complete mystery to me."

Hiccup's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Máni…talks to you?" he breathed, turning to face the moon, before frustration over took his shock.

"Well thank-you for nothing, you useless silver orb."

North cautiously took a step closer. "You call man in moon, Máni too?"  
"What does that mean North?" Tooth asked, watching the old man's face carefully, curiosity etched on her own. The spirit of wonder didn't reply, just continued to watch Hiccup before clearing his throat and breaking the boy out of his thoughts.  
"So, seeing as we know so little about one another, why don't you fill us in, hmm? Where are you from?" North smiled encouragingly at Hiccup, who sent him a dubious glance.  
"I'm a Viking," He replied carefully, "Or at least…I was. I used to live on this island called Berk."  
"Viking eh?" North mused. "That would explain a lot."  
"Oh yeah?" Bunny asked sarcastically. "Like what?"  
North ignored him. "Tell me…uh…what was it?"  
"Hiccup." The boy supplied. "My name's Hiccup." He gestured towards his dragon. "And this is Toothless."  
Bunny snorted and Hiccup and Toothless shot him a glare  
North grinned and let out a hearty laugh, drawing confused looks from everybody there.

"Hah! I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, trainer of dragons, defeater of the Red Death and the son of Stoick the Vast, am I right?"  
"Defeater of the what?" Bunny asked.  
Hiccup felt his jaw drop. "How-how did you know that?"  
North gave another chuckle.  
"You and I have been around for about same amount of time, it seems."  
Hiccup regarded the spirit curiously, "And just how long would that be?"  
North shrugged. "Twelve hundred and thirteen years for you, longer for me."  
Hiccup felt the earth spin beneath him and stumbled backwards to be caught by Toothless's tail. "T-that's not possible." He shook his head, eyes wide. "It's only been three hundred and three years since I woke up." He glanced up at North in disbelief. "Are you saying that I slept for, what, nine _hundred_ years?"  
"Technically, nine hundred and ten years." North corrected him.

Hiccup drew in several deep, gasping breaths and Toothless, worried that he was going to start hyperventilating like he had done all those years ago, promptly smacked him over his head with his tail.  
"Ow!" Hiccup shot Toothless a glare. "What was that for?" Toothless made several talking noises at him to try and convey his intention and Hiccup sighed before turning back to the Guardians in front of him.  
"Seeing as you know who I am, do you know what happened to Berk?"  
North hesitated before shaking his head.  
"Afraid not, I wasn't the same spirit that I am now. I drifted from place to place around Christmas time, observing all the different celebrations, increasing the wonder as I went. All I remember is heading back to Berk one year and finding nobody there."

Hiccup sighed again.

"All right, now that we've gotten all chummy here," Bunny cut in, "What exactly is it that you two do?"  
Hiccup toed the ground self-consciously, avoiding the piercing gazes currently aimed at him. "I-I-I change the colour of the leaves in Autumn a-and make it rain sometimes." Hiccup haltingly stated, fully aware of how useful it sounded.  
"That's it? How is the ability to change the colour of leaves and cause a little shower going to help us beat Pitch?" Bunny questioned.  
"Pitch?" Hiccup asked, confused.  
"Pitch Black." Tooth supplied. "He's the boogeyman, and our greatest enemy. He exists to spread fear through the hearts of children and his ultimate goal is to convince them to stop believing in us. That's what we do as Guardians, we guard the world's children from danger and keep wonder and hope alive."  
"And you want _me_ to join you?" Hiccup questioned. "Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"  
North shook his head. "Man in moon chose you to be Guardian, no mistake."  
Hiccup ran a hand through his damn hair. "Is this guy really so bad that the four of you can't handle him on your own?"  
"There are actually five of us." Tooth corrected. "But our fifth member appears to be running a little late."  
"A little?" Bunny scoffed.

A loud banging sound to their immediate right drew the group's attention.  
Jack Frost burst into room with a gust of cold air that caused more tremors to rack Hiccup's already freezing body.  
"Sorry I'm late," He called, rushing over to where the other's stood. "But I think I might've run into the reason that you called us all here—" He abruptly cut himself off at the sight of Hiccup and Toothless. "Is that…a dragon? And…a kid in a towel?"  
Hiccup bristled. "I'm not a kid!" He shot at the pale-skinned new arrival. "I'm sixteen years old!"  
"So a kid." Jack Frost stated, enjoying the way that the boy's cheeks lit up with a pink flush. He ran his eyes up and down the boy's towel-clad figure and felt a smirk work its way across his face. "Though I have to admit, I get why you guys were staring now."  
The boy made a very un-Viking like noise of indignation, accompanied by a hiss from Toothless, and flushed even brighter, clutching the towel tighter to his body  
"Jack, " North interrupted, drawing his gaze away from the towel-clad boy. "This is Hiccup, the Viking, and his dragon, Toothless; man in moon has chosen them to be new Guardians. We were just explaining situation to him. Hiccup, this is Jack Frost."  
"And this had to happen with him in a towel?" Jack asked curiously, the corners of his mouth twitching.  
"The bloody kid and his over-grown lizard over there wouldn't let us get close enough to poke him with a ten foot pole, let alone give him clothes." Bunny told him.

Jack sighed and made his way over to Hiccup, ignoring the growl that he received from Toothless for doing so. "Tell me, are all rabbits this nervous or is it just exclusive to the ones with sticks up their ass?"  
Hiccup, meanwhile, was distracted, had been since North told him the spirit's name.  
"Jack Frost?" He questioned quietly, causing Jack to pause in his advance.  
"Don't worry mate," Bunny supplied, "If you don't know about us, then you sure as hell won't know about some kid who goes around freezing water pipes and interrupting perfectly good egg hunts with blizzards." Jack sent him a look.  
"Actually, I think I do." Hiccup stated, causing Bunny to almost fall over and a shocked and surprised grin to spread across Jack's face. "He sounds kind of like Jokul Frosti, responsible for creating blizzards, leaving fern-like patters on windows, nipping your nose." He cocked his head to the side and took his Jack's youthful form. "Though I always pictured you a lot older."

"What?" Bunny asked incredulously. "You don't know who the _Easter Bunny_ is, but you know who _Jack Frost_ is?"  
Jack sent Bunny a smug grin before giving Hiccup a little bow. "At your service; but I'm afraid I go by Jack Frost, not Jokul Frosti. Though, you can just call me Jack.." He continued his advance towards Hiccup, who backed further away to Jack's confusion.  
Hiccup twiddled the towel between his hands nervously. "D-do you really cover anyone who gets on your bad side up with snow and freeze them to death?"

Jack recoiled slightly. "What?"

Hiccup continued to wring the towel between his fingers. "I-It's just…my Dad…he told me—"  
"Look," Jack cut him off; worried the towel might fall apart if Hiccup kept pulling at it. "I don't know what your Dad told you, but freezing people to death is not on my list of top ten favorite things to do." He took another step closer to Hiccup, stopping when he saw him flinch. He raised his arms in the air in a calming gesture. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He said reassuringly, making eye contact with Hiccup and watching the boy's body slowly relax.  
Jack smiled.  
"Now, do you really want to stay in that towel? Not that I'm complaining of course, the view's pretty decent and all, but I would've thought that you'd like to be fully clothed for the rest of this probably extremely long conversation." Hiccup flushed slightly at the thought before shaking his head.  
Jack he continued on his way to Hiccup, stopping just in front of him. Leaning his stick against the railing behind Hiccup, Jack reached for the bottom of his hoody and started to tug it off, only to be stopped by a surprised cry and hand grabbing his wrist.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked; his face flushed bright red.  
Jack shrugged. "Giving you my hoodie, what does it look like?"  
"Do you have anything on underneath that?" Hiccup asked, his cheeks growing even brighter.  
Jack shook his head, trying to hide the grin threatening to spread across his face; this kid was fun to tease.  
Hiccup's mouth flapped uselessly for a moment before he managed to find his voice.  
"Don't you have some extra clothes that I can use?" Hiccup asked, a hint of desperation entering his voice. Jack lowered the bottom of his hoody, although the kid was fun to tease, he didn't want to freak him out too much. He turned around to face the rest of the Guardians, a glimmer of amusement flickering through his eyes.  
"Hey, North, do you have any extra clothes for him to borrow?"

North chuckled.

"Of course I have extra clothes! This is north pole!" He snapped his fingers and a yeti appeared with a bright red package tied with bright green string. Taking the package from the yeti's hands, he tossed it over to Jack, who caught it with the hand that Hiccup wasn't holding and presented it to the boy. Hiccup let go of Jack's wrist and took the package from him, his eyes carefully raking it over.  
"Thank-you." He said, untying the ribbon and opening up the package to reveal a pair of jeans, a green t-shirt and a green hoody that was similar to Jack's along with a small, white, cotton article of clothing. Hiccup stared at it for a while, trying to figure out what it was. Jack noticed his confusion and followed his gaze; his mouth twitching again when he realized what had stumped the Viking. Deciding not to announce Hiccup's lack of knowledge to everybody present, Jack leaned forward and whispered his information in Hiccup's ear.  
"That's what we like to call, underwear." Jack informed him. "Briefs to be more specific; they go on under your pants. Well, unless you're Superman."  
Hiccup shot him a relieved and slightly puzzled (most likely about the whole 'Superman' thing) look as he pulled away and mouthed a 'thank-you' at him.  
Jack mouthed a 'you're welcome' back at him.

Hiccup cast his gaze behind Jack towards the other Guardians.  
"Um, is there anywhere I can go change?" He inquired cautiously, trying to beat down the flush that threatened to rise up in his cheeks again.  
"You can go change in my workshop." North replied, as he started towards the elevator that went down to the levels where the toys were made. "Follow me, I'll take you there."  
"Actually, North, " Jack cut in, "I this it'd be better if I took him there. It'll be faster if I float us there anyway, and I've got something pretty important to tell you all when everybody's ready. Besides," He grabbed his stick and wrapped an arm around Hiccup's shoulders. "Us newbies have got to stick together, right?"  
Toothless sent him another glare, which Jack pointedly ignored, and Hiccup looked up at him with a small smile forming at the edges of his lips. The sight of which distracted Toothless long enough to miss the small nod that North gave Jack and the grin that covered the pale teen's face before he moved his arm from Hiccup's shoulder to his waist and pulled the both of them up into the air. Hiccup gasped and checked to make sure his towel was in place before Jack sped them away from the others. Toothless looked after the two for a moment; something, most likely instinct, telling him that it would be best not to follow them. Instead retreating back to where he was before. He curled up on the stone floor below amid the curious stares of the other Guardians and waited for Hiccup's return.

* * *

The two flew through the different levels of the workshop, past several Yetis working on toys, turning sharply several times to avoid running into them and their creations, Jack Frost keeping a firm grip on Hiccup's waist the whole while, making sure to help keep the towel in place. Finally the two landed in front of North's workshop, Hiccup taking a moment to fully look at the workshop, his eyes filled with wonder and awe.

Jack caught him looking and smiled.  
"Yeah, when I first came here I was pretty shocked too." He pulled open the door to North's private workroom. "It never really gets old." He gave a flourish with his arm and gestured to the room within. "Now, my fellow guardian, would you be kind as to step into your change room?"  
Hiccup dragged his eyes away from the sights in front of him and turned back to Jack. "Thanks." He mumbled appreciatively, passing by Jack and entering the private workshop, eyes taking in the room before him.  
"I'll just be outside this door." Jack called, pulling the door halfway closed. Hiccup turned around, smiling his thanks before Jack fully shut the door and leaned against it.

Hiccup quickly dried himself off with the towel and gave his hair another toweling before setting the package down, taking out the pair of underwear and pulling it up his legs. Deciding he quite liked the feeling of it, he reached down for the pants and pulled those on as well, careful to make sure that they didn't snag on his prosthetic, he pulled up the metal contraption below the waistline and buttoned the two sides together. He looked down at his body and decided he liked the way the strange pants looked on him; and they felt like they fit just right. A foreign feeling to Hiccup, as there was rarely Viking clothes that could fit him without looking baggy, but one he liked. He reached down to grab the t-shirt, examining it for a moment, trying to figure out how to put it on. He guessed it was kind of like a tunic, inferring that the side the tag was attached to was supposed to be the back. As he began pulling it over his head, he heard Jack's voice through the door of the workshop.

"Do you really not know who the Easter Bunny is?" He asked, more than a hint of mirth to his tone.  
Hiccup sighed and finished pulling the shirt over his head.  
"We didn't celebrate Easter where I came from. What is it?"  
"Basically, it's about finding chocolate, but Bunny will tell you that it's about new beginnings and hope." Jack drawled, but Hiccup could tell that part of him believed that too. "Bunny hides eggs for the kids to find on Easter Sunday in spring." Hiccup straightened out the shirt, enjoying the soft feeling of it.  
"That sounds interesting, but the only celebration in spring for me was when we celebrated the goddesses Freyja and Iðunn."  
"Freyja and Iðunn?" Jack questioned, managing to horribly mispronounce the names as he did so.  
Hiccup reached for the hoody, going by how Jack had worn his, he guessed the strings were supposed to at the front with the hood at the back.  
"Freyja is the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. And Iðunn is the goddess of apples, youth and spring."  
"So you could say: 'Hiccup, you must have been blessed by Freyja to have such immense beauty'?"  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, tugging the hoody over his damp hair. "Technically, yes, but I don't believe I've heard that used on anyone before; especially Me."  
"What a shame. You Vikings missed out on a lot of great pick up lines." Jack commented. "And you've never heard of the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause either?"  
"No. What do they do?" Hiccup called back, straightening the hoody and casting a glance down his body to check he looked all right.

"Well Santa Claus is pretty basic, he just goes around on December 24th, what we call 'Christmas Eve', and delivers presents to all the children on his 'nice' list, that are opened the next morning, or 'Christmas Morning'. And all the kids on his 'naughty' list are supposed to end up with nothing but coal." Hiccup could almost feel the pride bursting from Jack's voice at his next statement. "You should feel honored, you're talking to the one seventeen year old who holds the record for the number of times placed on the 'naughty list'."

"I'll be careful to try and steer clear of you then." Hiccup called back dryly, picking up and folding his damp towel.  
"Aw, don't be like that. Now, the Tooth fairy, she goes around collecting the teeth that children put under their pillows and leaving behind a gift. She also looks after the most important memories of your childhood; which are stored in the teeth. And when you need to remember something important, she and her fairies help you."  
Hiccup picked up the package and started to make his way towards the door.  
"Sounds interesting, when we lost teeth on Berk, our parents paid us to use the teeth to make jewelry, for good luck in battle."

"Huh, so did you see a lot of battles as a Viking?" Jack called back, just as Hiccup reached the door. Hiccup paused for a moment and glanced down at his leg, wondering how Jack and the others would react when they saw it. At the same time, his hand rose to trace a three-inch wide scar just above his heart.

"Yeah," he replied, "I saw a few."

He reached forward and opened the door.

* * *

The spirit watched the boogeyman as he paced the stone floor, his gold eyes gleaming with glee and more than a hint of madness.

Pitch turned to the face the spirit. "And you're sure that he called himself a Guardian?"  
The spirit nodded. "He seemed really full of himself too, ordering me around and acting like he was better than me." His eye twitched at the thought and he gave a cry of rage before hurling the dagger at the nearest wall. "What I wouldn't give to cut him down to size."  
Pitch nodded and waved a hand vaguely in the spirits direction. "And you'll get your chance, don't worry. But first, we have to lure those infernal Guardians out of their cozy little holes." A maniacal grin spread across his face. "And I know just how we're going to do it."  
The spirit grinned. "As long as I get to destroy stuff, then I don't care what we do."  
Pitch turned to face the spirit.  
"Oh, don't worry, we are going to obliterate the guardians, and everything that they hold dear to them." He let out a cold and harsh laugh. "You'll have so much to destroy that you won't know where to start."

_"I'll leave the other Guardians to him"_, Pitch thought to himself, _"And as for me, well, Jack Frost won't know what hit him. I'll take everything that he loves and tear it apart while he watches, until I'm satisfied that he's felt what I felt locked in that endless nightmare times a thousand. And then I'll find new ways to torture him for all eternity, while I rule the earth with fear and darkness."_

* * *

Jack ran his eyes down Hiccup's body, taking in the new clothes with a grin that promptly fell off his face when his eyes landed on the place where Hiccup's lower leg should have been. Taking in the wooden and metal prosthetic, his gaze travelled back up to Hiccup's face and he felt his gut tighten at the expression there. Hiccup looked back at him with resignation and horribly disguised disappointment. Before Jack could open his mouth and respond; Hiccup spoke.  
"I was fighting this dragon, called the "Red Death" with Toothless. We defeated him in the end, but as a result…" He tapped his prosthetic against the floor.

Jack looked at him for a moment before smiling gently. "I was just going to say that those clothes look really good on you."  
Hiccup looked at him, his eyes widened slightly in shock as a smile made its way across his face.  
Jack made his way over to Hiccup and slung an arm around his waist before shooting the two up into the air. "Red Death huh? Sounds pretty badass, Hic."  
Hiccup groaned. "Hic? Really?"  
Jack shrugged. "What's wrong with Hic?"  
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You mean other than the fact that it makes you sound like you've actually got a case of the hiccups?"

Jack smirked. "Have you got something against hiccups, Hiccup?"  
"Just that the fact that they lead to the creation of the least menacing Viking name ever." Hiccup replied dryly.  
Jack looked him up and down. "Well, you're not exactly your average run-of-the-mill Viking are you?"  
Hiccup nodded. "True, most Vikings kill or run from Dragons, they don't generally keep them for pets." He shrugged. "Must mean that I have a few screws loose somewhere."  
Jack sped off towards where the two had left the Guardians earlier. "For the record, I think I prefer this loony Viking to the blood-thirsty ones that I've heard about over the years."  
"You never know," Hiccup reminded him, "My insanity might just be a cover for my blood-thirsty ways." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You better run while you can, just to be safe."  
Jack laughed. "I think I'll take my chances."  
Hiccup shrugged. "It's your funeral."

The two landed back on the platform, Toothless raising his head at their arrival before making his way over to Hiccup, pushing between the two and nuzzling his side, making sure to shoot Jack a glare while he was at it.  
"Hey, bud." Hiccup patted the dragon's head. "Sorry I took so long." Toothless harrumphed and licked his face, causing Hiccup to chuckle before pushing the dragon and his tongue away.  
"Ah, Hiccup." North said, striding into the room with the rest of the Guardians from the same place Jack had when he first arrived. "How are you liking the clothes?"  
"I like them a lot," Hiccup told him, "Thank-you for lending them to me."  
North waved him off. "Bah, it was no trouble. Now come, we have much to discuss. Starting with the big news that Jack has for us."

Jack hopped up on the globe, ignoring the look that Bunny shot him, and made his way over to where Burgess was located.  
"Well, I was over in Burgess, just enjoying my day freezing the window panes and water pipes when I decided that it would be fun to come and visit you, North." He tapped his stick on Burgess. "Just as I was about to fly this way, I heard all this noise coming up from the town." He leaned on his stick and frowned as the memories came back. "When I got down there again, the same people that were just going about their day like normal were all acting like something came right up and bit them. If it had just been a few people then I wouldn't have really thought anything of it, but the whole town was acting like the world kept spinning just to bug them. I looked around for anything out of the ordinary and saw this blur run towards the woods." He straightened up and floated over to the windowpane. "Now, being the good Guardian that I am, I chased after and tackled it. It turning out to be this spirit that I've never seen or heard of before; a guy that looked about my age, maybe older. I confronted him and asked who he was and what he was doing, and in return got thrown through a couple of trees."

"What did he look like?" Bunny asked curiously.

Jack threw him an affronted look. "Thanks for your concern over my well being."

Bunny rolled his eyes. "Seeing as you're just as annoying as you've ever been mate, I assumed that you were alright."  
"Anyway," Tooth interceded before the two had a chance to stray from the discussion at hand, "What _did_ he look like Jack?"  
Jack glanced at Tooth before putting his fingers on the window and allowing the image to spread from them. "He was wearing a horned helmet with a braid of red hair coming out the back, he had three blue stripes across his left eye and right arm, and was dressed like he was about to go fight in some war or something plus what looked like a skirt." He floated down from the windowpane and landed back down below. "He also had like a sword on his back that released the heat wave that sent me into those trees and a dagger."  
The three Guardians peered at the image.

"I don't about you two, but that looks a hell of a lot like the shadow that moony showed us this morning." Bunny said, gauging the other two's reactions.  
Tooth flew up and examined the image more closely. "That confirms it then," She said, "Pitch has got some new spirit to help him try to get rid of us."

"Did you say that he had three blue stripes across his left eye and right arm?" Hiccup asked, dread pooling in the bottom of his stomach as the frozen image began to look more and more familiar.  
Jack glanced over at Hiccup. "Yeah, why, you know him?"

_So, do we have a deal?  
_

Hiccup swallowed, trying to work past the lump in his throat, hand unconsciously tracing the scar on his chest. Toothless watched Hiccup carefully, worry evident in his green eyes. Jack noticed this and made his way over to Hiccup carefully, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup?"

_You can't escape this Hiccup, whatever happens, I will have my way._

Hiccup took another deep breath, steadying himself, before looking into Jack's concerned blue eyes.  
"He was the leader of a rival tribe that was fighting mine before I died. He's about nineteen years old and is the epitome of blood-thirsty Viking."

Hiccup's hand clenched over his scar.

"His name is Dagur."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank-you to all of you that are reading this story and special thanks to the ones that left a review!3 I'm glad you like the story so far ^^

* * *

They lead Hiccup to another room and sat him gently down at a table, Bunny's questions (presumably about his leg) shoved down by a well-aimed elbow from Tooth, as he tries to grasp the idea the idea that Dagur is still breathing the same air that he is. It is a revelation that makes him want to hold his breath for the rest of eternity. He can feel Jack's hand still resting on his shoulder, as though he is scared that, if he lets go, Hiccup will dissolve away into nothing. Hiccup wonders dimly at the back of his mind what face he could possibly be making to cause Jack feel that way before the thought is drowned out by another image of Dagur's face. Hiccup shakes his head to try and clear the smug grin out of his mind, clenching his hands on the tabletop for several sharp intakes of breaths before attempting relaxing them as he breathes out.

A Yeti makes his way over to the table as the others sit down and puts a mug in front of each of them. Jack mutters a "Thanks, Phil" for both him and Hiccup. No one reaches for their mugs, instead focusing their gaze on Hiccup. Toothless has taken a seat on Hiccup's left side, opposite to Jack. Hiccup can feel the questions in their burning gazes and feels his throat go dry at the thought of telling them about Dagur.  
As he reaches for the mug with slightly trembling hands, the foreignness of his situation hits him with full force. Here he is, sitting in a strange hall, with strange people, about to drink something strange, and being told that the thing that had ignored him for his whole existence has chosen him to become one of these strangers. Doubts began to circle through his mind; could he really trust these people? North claimed to know him but, for all he knew, these people could be lying about…well…everything. What if the Guardians were the bad guys, and this Pitch guy was just trying to stop them from hurting people? What if it was Pitch who protected the children and these 'Guardians' were really just trying to fool the children into believing in them with cheap tricks so that they could keep on being all-powerful? For all he knew, they could be some sort of ruling power in this strange new world that he had been thrust into against his will, and they had ordered all the other spirits not to make contact with him so that he would be more easily fooled into joining their ranks.

Jack's hand on his shoulder tightened slightly and he felt his heart skip a beat before turning to face him.

Jack looked back at him, genuine concern echoing deep within his eyes.  
"Hiccup, are you sure you're alright?"  
Hiccup looked back into his face for a moment, eyes tracing everything that it had to offer as he tried to find some fault in Jack's expression, some little flaw that would give their whole plan away and shatter the concern that was held in those blue eyes. Something, anything, that would help him to either confirm or banish the dark doubts that resounded so loudly through his brain.  
Instead, he only saw Jack's sincerity etched so firmly onto his face that Hiccup felt a nagging pit of guilt for even having such doubts. He half wanted to put a hand in front of Jack's eyes, so that the concern and care held there couldn't reach him. It had been so long since something other than Toothless had looked at him and Odin-Knows-How-Long since he had an actual conversation that consisted of both sides using words; not rumbles, snorts and facial expressions. And when he had been talking with Jack, everything had seemed to flow so easily, Jack meeting his sarcasm with his smirks and witty remarks.  
He shook the doubts from his mind, but took care to leave one lingering just on the edges of his consciousness, warning him to be cautious at all times.

"I'm fine." He told Jack, offering him a weak smile before turning and taking a sip of the drink before him, the strange taste coming as a pleasant surprise.  
Jack noticed his expression and smiled before removing his hand from Hiccup's shoulder and taking a gulp from his own mug.  
"It's called Eggnog, traditionally served at Christmas, pretty good huh?"  
Hiccup nodded and took another sip, putting the mug down when he heard North cough slightly. He looked over at the other Guardians and felt his heart tremble again; Jack and Toothless watched him carefully out of the corners of their eyes.  
"So, Hiccup." North began. "You say that this…Dagur, you were fighting him around time you died?"  
Hiccup nodded.  
"He…" He took a breath. "Our tribes had a treaty which was held up for about fifty years or so without any trouble, and we thought it would stay that way until Oswald the Agreeable, Dagur's father, passed on and Dagur became Chief. But even then, we didn't think that we would have outright war with the Berserkers when Dagur took over. I mean, sure, we knew it would be more difficult to keep the treaty going, but we thought it was possible." He shook his head. "Really, going by how he acted when we were kids, we should have seen it coming."  
"How did he act when you guys were kids?" Tooth asked quietly.

Hiccup left out a laugh that didn't hold any humor. "Oh you know, just the usual kid stuff; using me as target practice, locking Fishlegs in a cage for three days and feeding him rotten cod heads, trying to—" He took in another deep breath. "To drown me." His hand began to shake slightly as memories of daggers whistling just past his ears and icy cold water filling up his lungs came rushing back. He tried to push past the lump in his throat and the stunned silence that filled the room, unaware of the dark look that had begun to gather in the Guardian's eyes. "Shortly after we started getting along with dragons on Berk, the Berserker tribe was supposed to come and renew the treaty." He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to hide the extent of his shaking. "Except when they arrived, it was Dagur the Deranged they introduced as their Chief." He shook his head. "I don't have to tell you all shocked we were. Oswald had seemed to be in perfect shape the last time we saw him, but going by what Dagur said later, it seems that not even being in perfect shape can save you from a deranged seventeen year old with an ax." He reached for his mug, taking another sip before continuing. "Luckily, my dad had the foresight to get us to hide all the dragons before they arrived." He placed the mug back on the table. "But Dagur, somehow he knew all about the dragons and how I had lost my leg defeating the Red Death. He questioned me about it but I managed to feign ignorance about the whole thing and, thanks to some hand signals that we had taught our dragons before he arrived, we were able to stage a dragon attack and chase him away."

"We thought we had seen the last of him, but unfortunately, another one of our enemies, which Vikings have _way _too many of by the way, got fed up with trying to kidnap and convince me to train dragons because his plans to do so never worked. So he thought it would be a great idea to build a boat and sail off the island, that he was exiled to, straight to Dagur and tell him that he could prove we were amassing an army of dragons. The two chums then hopped into a boat and proceeded to sneak onto Berk, where they got a good view of me training dragons with the others. Thanks to him, Dagur then declared war on us on the grounds that we were a threat to the existence of the Berserker tribe. Unfortunately for the guy who led him to us, he never got to see any of the action and instead wound up swimming with the fishes, according to Dagur at least." Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's arm and Hiccup scratched the dragon gently behind the ear.  
"Did you try and reason with him?" Tooth asked.  
Hiccup nodded. "When Dagur first made his announcement to us at the next treaty meeting, we tried to negotiate with him."

"And what happened mate?" It was Bunny who asked this time, and Hiccup felt his hand pause on behind Toothless's ear and his stomach plummet at the memories that came unbidden into his mind. Jack noticed his hand pause and watched Hiccup even more closely, an awful sinking feeling beginning to creep its way through his gut.  
"About as well as you would expect." Hiccup replied, careful to keep his tone even so as not to let anything slip through and give them more reason to suspect anything.  
"He wasn't into the whole peace thing; when Berserkers play, they tend to play for keeps; and blood." He shivered. "Lots and lots of blood."  
Jack's hand tightened on his mug and a burst of frost erupted, chilling the mug's contents and the freezing it to the table. Hiccup glanced over at him and, taking in his dark expression, decided to finish the story as fast as he could.

"So we went to war with them, and had really hard time trying to keep them back, even with the dragons helping us. They had all these little ways of sneaking onto the island from where we'd least expect them to. Finally, when some scouts were out one day on their dragons, they spotted the Berserker's camp and were smart enough to turn back right away and tell my dad about it." He took another sip of his drink; glad that Jack's frost hadn't reached it. "The last thing that I remember is falling asleep in my bed the night before we were supposed to attack them, before waking up on a rocky beach with Toothless, nine hundred and ten years apparently."  
Luckily this had the effect that he was hoping for and Jack's dark look instantly disappeared to be replaced with one of immense shock.

"Nine _hundred_ _and ten_ years?" He questioned in disbelief. "You're_ nine hundred and ten_ years old?"  
"Actually I'm twelve hundred and thirteen plus the sixteen years that I actually lived for." Hiccup corrected him. "I've only been awake for about three hundred and three though."  
Jack stared at him for a moment before a light bulb went off in his head and he jumped up triumphantly. "Hah! That means my three hundred and thirteen years plus the seventeen before I became a spirit still technically makes me older than you." Jack leaned down and ruffled Hiccup's hair. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to show you how it's done."  
"Excuse me?" Hiccup asked, pushing Jack's hand away. "You'll show _me_ how it's done? I think you'll find I've managed quite fine on my own, thank-you very much." Toothless snorted and Hiccup sent him a glare, Jack smirking all the while.  
"Oh really?" Jack replied. "Your dragon doesn't seem to think so."

Hiccup threw him a look.

"Back to business," North called, interrupting the two, a twinkle forming in his eyes at the sight of their interactions, "What should our next move be?"  
"I reckon we should head to where Jack saw him run off to and search around the area, he might be hiding out somewhere around there." Bunny suggested.  
Tooth nodded. "I agree with Bunny, that sounds like a good plan." Sandy made a check mark above his head in sand.  
"Hiccup, Jack, what do you two think?" North asked.  
Hiccup hesitated, his heart hammering unsteadily in his chest at the thought of meeting Dagur again. But along with the fear racing through his veins was a need to know exactly what had happened the day that he had died, and where the scar across his chest had come from. He knew it was selfish, wanting to know what happened to him while the Guardians were just trying to protect the children, but he wanted closure. He wanted something to chase away the nagging doubt that he had abandoned his family and friends and fled the battle, leaving them all to perish at the hands of the Berserkers.

He wanted to know that he hadn't been a coward.

And Dagur was the only one left now who knew the answer.

Jack noticed his hesitation and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.  
"Sounds good to me," He called back to North cheerily before looking down at Hiccup, "Don't worry Hic, the brave and dashingly handsome Jack Frost will keep you safe."  
Hiccup met his gaze, gratitude welling up in the depths of his green eyes before he realized what he was doing and pushed Jack's arm off of him. "I don't need you to keep me safe you know." He told him stubbornly, fighting back the blush that was rising to his cheeks despite his best efforts.  
Jack shrugged and leaned on his staff with a smile. "Well, I'll be there just in case you do, mister dragon trainer."  
Hiccup ignored him and turned to North.  
"Honestly? I think that this plan is crazy and will probably end in mass destruction, but seeing as the same result can be achieved if you so much as breathe wrong around Dagur, and seeing as this seems to be the only lead that we have about finding him, I say let's go for it." He sighed. "Just don't blame me when you end up with dagger-shaped holes in your bodies."  
Jack rolled his eyes. "And on that cheerful note, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

* * *

"WHOOHOOO!" Jack screamed into the wind as it rushed past him, his arms spread wide and enjoying the feel of the cold air running through him. "THIS IS AMAZING!"  
Hiccup laughed. "Glad you like it." He called back to him, glancing behind him to see Jack's huge grin.  
After finding out that Toothless and sleighs did not mix very well (or rather, finding out that Toothless hated flying unless it involved flapping his wings) North had widened the skylight enough so that he and Toothless could fit through it. Jack had hopped on last minute, saying that he wanted to see what riding on a dragon felt like, and the two had taken off; Jack's arms wrapped tightly around Hiccup's waist, stick resting against the Viking's chest as an extra safety measure.  
Hiccup and Jack had both written off the pounding in their chests as an adrenaline rush.  
Toothless snorted and dipped sharply down, causing Jack to scramble and wrap his arms around Hiccup's waist again.  
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out, "What was that for?"

The dragon snorted again and continued flying.

Hiccup sighed. "So, where's this town supposed to be?" He called back to Jack. "Is it far from here?"  
Jack laughed. "It's pretty far, but I have something that will get us there pretty quickly." He reached inside his hoody and pulled out a snow globe.  
Hiccup eyed it warily, not liking the mischievous grin that had spread across Jack's face. "What's that?"  
Jack's grin grew wider.  
"I'll show you." He brought the snow globe close to his lips and whispered something to it before chucking it past Hiccup's head as the dragon rider let out a cry of shock, turning to see the snow globe explode into an array of colours and form the image of a sleeping town, street lights glowing softly.

"What in Odin's name is that?" Before Hiccup could move them to turn Toothless away from it, Jack reached out and caught his wrists. "Oh no, you don't" He told him.  
Hiccup turned around to yell at him, but the two plunged into the portal with a twisting sensation that stole the air from his lungs. Eyes wide, he took in his surroundings carefully, looking around at the town that just a moment ago had been an image hanging in mid air. Jack took in his dumbstruck expression and his grin got even wider. He leant forward and whispered in Hiccup's ear. "I asked North for a portal before we left. You're welcome by the way."

Hiccup turned and glared at him. "For the heart attack?"

"I wasn't aware that tough Vikings like yourself got heart attacks." Jack told him, his sincerity broken by the slight twitch at the corners of his mouth.  
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "As we have previously established, I'm not your average Viking." He looked around the area. "Where did you see Dagur run off to again?"  
Jack moved to point in the direction that he had last seen the other Viking, before realizing that he still had a grip on Hiccup's wrists. Releasing his grasp on them and, trying to ignore the pink tinge of Hiccup's cheeks as well as the warm blood rushing to his own, he pointed towards the woods past the center of town. Hiccup nudged Toothless in that direction and soon the two had arrived at the clearing where Jack had seen Dagur earlier.

After landing carefully back on solid ground, Jack hopped off of Toothless and pointed at the tree behind Hiccup's head.  
"That's where I was standing when he lobbed that dagger at me." He turned and pointed his stick further into the dark woods. "And that's where he was heading when I tackled him. So," He turned back to Hiccup, "I'll head in that direction while the others look after the town in case he pops back up there, which is most likely, and you stay on Toothless and search from above." Jack wasn't stupid, he had seen how shaken up Hiccup had been when he had found out Dagur was still alive and kicking. So he figured that it would be best for them all if he went and found Dagur by himself, that way Hiccup wouldn't have to deal with him.

Hiccup shook his head.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for the two of us to stick together? What if you fly ahead somewhere I can't see you and you get ambushed or something?"  
Jack cocked his head at Hiccup. "You appear to be underestimating my abilities Hic, I could take this guy down with my eyes closed."  
"And yet you had both eyes open when he threw you through several trees the last time you two encountered each other." Hiccup commented dryly, getting off of Toothless, who snorted.  
Jack sent the dragon a glare.  
"That was a one time thing." Jack told him.  
Hiccup raised an eyebrow as Toothless rolled his eyes. "Uh huh?"  
"Look it'd be better if you stay in the air in case he _does_ show up, that way you can fly back and get the others." Jack tried to convince him.  
"And leave you here on your own to deal with him? Jack, I don't think you understand how dangerous he is." Hiccup clutched his arms closer to his body at the thought, wondering whether Jack had been listening at all and feeling more than slightly annoyed at the fact that it seemed like he hadn't. "What part about '_the epitome of blood-thirsty Viking' _didn't you get?"  
Jack sighed in exasperation, irritation creeping through his veins; Hiccup was being impossible, couldn't he see that Jack had suggested this plan for his sake? "We're wasting time, I'm going to go look in the woods for him, you search from above, ok?" He took off through the trees before Hiccup could reply.  
"Jack, wait!" Hiccup called as he ran forward, his hand outstretched as though if he reached far enough, he could grab the spirit by the hood of his hoody and pull him back.

Though he would settle for just strangling him at the moment.

He clenched his outstretched hand in frustration and let it fall to his side. "Damn it!" He cursed. "That idiot's going to get himself killed." Turning back to face Toothless, he started to walk back to the dragon. "We'd better get up in the air, if we're quick enough, we might be able to catch up with him."

Before he could take another step, something flew past his ear at lightning speed and imbedded itself in the tree a few hundred yards in front of him.  
He froze as a familiar chuckling sound reached his ears.

"I didn't know you swore."

He watched Toothless's ears flatten, eyes narrowing as he lot out a hiss to accompany the footsteps that crunched through the dry leaves on the ground towards Hiccup before halting just behind him; he felt a warm breath travel down his neck, sending shivers down his spine.  
"Hello, Hiccup." Dagur whispered in his ear, maniacal glee all too evident. "It's been a very long time, hasn't it."

Hiccup tried to remember how to breathe.

_"Not long enough for me."_ He thought.

* * *

North glanced back at Bunny, who had his head hung over the side of the sleigh and was currently trying to remember how to breathe properly.  
"Why…" Bunny groaned, "Couldn't…we have taken…the tunnels…again?"  
"Is faster this way, my friend." North replied, holding in his laugh at Bunny's expense with an immense amount of self-control. Sandy patted Bunny's hand sympathetically and Tooth rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe the Aussie's motion sickness; an attempt that had yet to work, but one that Bunny was grateful for all the same.  
"Are you sure it's a good idea to let Jack and Hiccup go on their own?" Tooth asked, worry evident. "What if they run into Pitch and something happens to them?"  
North steered the reindeer down into the street, making sure to land as carefully as possible so as not to wake anybody. "They will be fine as long as they stick together. Hiccup, he does not fully trust us yet, but he seems to believe in Jack. And that might be all we need to convince him to join us."  
"Or maybe we need to re-think our recruitment strategy." Bunny called up, having hopped onto solid ground the moment they had landed and quickly regained his ability to breathe. "The whole 'getting kidnapped and shoved into a bag and tossed through a magic portal' thing _just_ _might_ have something to do with his reluctance to join."  
North looked at him, curiosity etched onto his face as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You think so?"

* * *

Jack quickly hopped from tree to tree as he made his way through the forest, scanning the area for any sign of movement, the moon providing little light to see with in the dark forest.  
"Come on, where are you hiding?" He muttered, trying to move past the nagging feeling that had been plaguing him since he left Hiccup back in the clearing.  
_"What part about 'the epitome of blood-thirsty Viking' didn't you get?" _Hiccup's voice rang all too loud in his head; growing louder with every step he took away from the clearing. He hadn't _meant_ to just run off and leave Hiccup there; he had just become so irritated with him. Couldn't the Viking see that he was trying to protect him?  
Frankly, he didn't know what it was about Hiccup; there was just something about him that drew Jack to him. He enjoyed talking with and teasing the Viking, especially liking the way that his cheeks lit up whenever he did so. He felt this strange need to protect him, but for the life of him couldn't explain why. It didn't hurt that he was attractive but, as he was learning, that wasn't what had captivated Jack.

_"Captivated?" _Jack questioned. _"God, that makes me sound like some love-sick girl."_

Jack Frost was not some lovesick girl.

Was he?

He shook his head, trying to shake Hiccup's image from his mind, instead winding up hitting a tree that popped up out of nowhere. He fell to the ground with a 'thump' and cry of surprise and pain. Cursing and rubbing his nose, he sent the tree a death glare before looking for another tree branch to hop to.  
It wasn't so much the fact that Hiccup was a guy that bothered him; to Jack it didn't matter that much, love came in many different shapes and forms. No, it was the fact that he had just met the guy _this morning_, and already he felt like they fit together like nothing he had ever experienced before. But what about Hiccup? Did he feel the same way? He was a Viking after all, would liking a guy be something that they had tied people to masts and shipped out to sea for?

The whole thing reeked with an immense amount of insane, and Jack tried his best to accept only small amounts of insane into his life.

_"Though, Hiccup is rather small (and slender) huh?"_

Jack gave another groan and tried to shake the thought out of his head; at the same time, a crunching sound to his right alerted him to another presence and he spun around, staff pointed at the figure threateningly.  
A pair of glowing gold eyes and gleaming white grin shone back at him.  
"Hello Jack."  
Jack tightened his grip on his staff.

"Pitch." He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "I assume you've come to try and intimidate me with your new evil plan?"  
The boogeyman laughed, it was hoarse and cracked though, and it sounded almost painful. "You always were a smart one, weren't you Jack? Well, except for when you shunned my offer to join forces; I must say, that wasn't very smart."  
"As I recall, you ended up trapped by your own nightmares in the end, didn't you?" Jack replied easily. "While me and the rest of the Guardians walked away pretty much unscathed. Tell me, what part about that wasn't smart?"  
"Ah yes, the nightmares." Pitch mused, "I have to admit, I'd almost forgotten the last torturous _thirteen_ _years_ that I spent at their hands." His golden eyes burned bright with pure malice. "All thanks to you Guardians." He spat, venom dripping from his voice.  
"Well, I hate to tell you Pitch, but you reap what you sow." Jack told him, eyeing him carefully, preparing for when the man would attack him.  
"Indeed you do Jack Frost, indeed you do." Pitch replied, his eyes still burning.

"So what's the grand master plan this time?" Jack asked, tired of the circles they were going in.  
Pitch threw his head back and gave another one of his harsh laughs.  
"Oo, nice try Jack, but I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy."  
Jack shrugged. "I figured."  
He shot an ice blast at Pitch, one that was gracefully dodged with another laugh as the boogeyman disappeared in the shadows.  
"Sorry Jack, but I'm not in the mood to play right now. But I think you'll find my new companion is always in the mood to play. He shouldn't be too hard to find; just look for two Vikings and a dragon, you can't miss them." Jack could hear the smirk that was plastered across his face in his next statement. "And I must say, that Hiccup really is quite the cutie, isn't he Jack?"

Jack's eyes widened and his head snapped back to the direction he had come from.

"Oh no."

He shot off through the trees, Pitch's laughter ringing through his ears.

* * *

"I have to say, I didn't expect to see you ever again." Dagur told him, reaching his hand forward and catching the dagger as it flew back to him. "Now I have all this power, and you as well." He sighed in happiness. "I must have been blessed by the Gods."

_"While I apparently have been cursed." _Hiccup thought bitterly, his hands shaking.

"What kind of power, Dagur?" He asked, careful to make it sound like he wasn't _too _interested.  
Dagur twirled the dagger around in his hand, giving Hiccup a full view of the silver object as it gleamed in the moonlight and the deep red stain that covered the cloth on its hilt as he did so. "It's a real fun power, I can make people feel irritated just by staring at them, and I can make people feel _burning_ anger and hatred when I _stab_ them with my dagger." He heard Hiccup's breath hitch and he laughed. "Oh, don't worry, it doesn't hurt _normal_ people, just unlocks all the irritation inside them. But _spirits_, well," He caught the dagger and gripped it tightly. "I haven't tried it out yet."  
"Sounds _real_ fun Dagur." Hiccup told him, the dryness in his throat adding to his comment.  
"Glad you agree; now," He leant close to Hiccup's ear, "you going to tell me about your new friend with the white hair, _Hic_?"

Hiccup felt his heart skip a beat as he clenched his fists and tried to breath evenly.

"He has absolutely nothing to do with this Dagur, so please, just leave him alone. You won't gain anything from going after him." He struggled not to say "killing" or whatever it was that happened to spirits when monsters like Dagur got through with them.  
"Is that so?" Dagur asked, drawing the words out slowly, enjoying watching Hiccup's shaking form. He shrugged and turned away from Hiccup slightly. "Whatever, I've already heard all about him. Jack Frost: spirit of winter and Guardian of Fun, member of the 'big five', formerly the 'big four', blah de blah de blah."  
Dagur grasped one of Hiccup's shoulders and spun him around to face him, drawing a gasp of pain from him. Tightening his grip on Hiccup's shoulder, he raised the dagger to his neck, pricking the skin when Toothless growled and attempted to charge the Berserker Chief. Hiccup winced at the stinging sensation as Toothless's sharp sense of smell caught wind of the trickle of blood as it made its way down Hiccup's neck; the dragon froze in his tracks, growling lowly at the smug grin that Dagur threw him.

Dagur refocused his gaze on Hiccup, grin growing even wider.

"That however, is not what I'm interested in."

Hiccup glared back up at him. "What _are_ you interested in, Dagur?"  
Dagur laughed. "What I've always been interested in, _Hic_." He drew his face closer to Hiccup's.  
"Blood and destruction?" Hiccup asked dryly.  
Dagur shrugged, putting the dagger back into his belt "Well, that too, but that's not what I was talking about."  
"Do I _want_ to know what you were talking about?" Hiccup sighed, trying to distract Dagur from the trembling in his voice and trying to distract himself from the sinking feeling that he already knew.  
Dagur looked at Hiccup thoughtfully for a moment before reaching forward and resting the hand that had held the dagger on his chest, right where the scar was.  
"Hey, Hic, tell me." He whispered, eyes flicking back up to Hiccup's. "Did it scar?"

Hiccup felt the world fall away as his heart stopped beating.

"You…how do you know about that?!" Hiccup cried, outrage and a desperate need to know overcoming his fear. He grabbed the front of Dagur's shirt and pulled the taller Viking down to his level. "Tell me!"  
Dagur regarded him with shock. "You don't remember?"  
Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "If I knew then I wouldn't be asking, would I?" He ground out.  
Dagur looked into his eyes for a moment more before groaning and hitting his face with his palm. "Argh, how could you have forgotten?" He cried. "I finally beat you!" Anger swiftly returned to his features, causing Hiccup to release his shirt and step backwards, only to be brought back by the hand squeezing his shoulder far too tightly. "This whole thing was useless if you can't remember what happened! How _dare_ you forget?"  
"It's not like I forgot on purpose!" Hiccup shot back at him, anger colouring his cheeks.  
Dagur slapped Hiccup across his face, sending the young teen to the ground with a thump and causing Toothless to release a loud roar of outrage. As Hiccup struggled to sit up and regain his bearing amidst the intense stinging in his cheek, Dagur leaned down and grabbed him by the front of his hoody.

"Do _not_ talk back to _me_." He growled, rage pouring off his body and hitting Hiccup with immense waves of heat. Hiccup cringed and cried out in pain; it felt like Dagur was actually burning him.  
"Since you seem so desperate to know, I'll tell you." Dagur told him shortly, bringing the dagger back out of his belt. "Your tribe attacked our island, you and your dragons burning the boats, the tents, and the catapults that we had set up." Dagur sneered and threw Hiccup to the ground, ignoring the cry of pain that came from the small teen and roar that Toothless gave. "Then your people made their way to our shores and attacked on the ground, while you and your pathetic dragons attacked from above." He grinned and crouched down, leaning over Hiccup as he did so. "I must admit, from there on it becomes a bit of a blur for me, what with all the fighting and the bloodshed on all sides." He chuckled. "I would have to say that the moment when it all snaps back into focus is when I kidnapped that blonde girl, A-something…"  
"Astrid." Hiccup supplied, his eyes growing wide.  
Dagur nodded. "Yeah, that must have been it. Anyway, I grabbed her off her dragon when they got too close to the fighting." He paused to look at Hiccup, leaning in even closer to the boy's face. "You sure were quick to save her I must say."

"I saved her?" The sorrow and panic halted its progress through his veins.

Dagur clenched his jaw at Hiccup's relieved expression.

"Yes, you did." He muttered. "You were quite awful at saving yourself though." He turned the dagger over in his hands. "You didn't take very long to overpower, and it took even less time for you to succumb to fatigue and blood loss."  
"Blood loss?" Hiccup asked, his body feeling heavy with dread as the pieces began to click together in his mind.  
Dagur grinned at him and gestured to the blood soaked cloth at the hilt of the blade. "Yeah, whose blood did you think this was?"

His mind went numb at Dagur's words, realization finally dawning on him.

"You…_you_…_killed_ me?" He breathed, his brain refusing to comprehend the situation.

Dagur laughed.

"That's right! Though my victory was pretty short lived, seeing as your lack of consciousness meant your dragon couldn't turn properly and we all slammed into the side of the cliff." He shrugged. "Oh well, you collapsed into my arms before we hit it, which means that technically, I still beat you." He grinned. "_And_, if you remember what I told you at the treaty meeting, than you know what that means." He moved the hand holding the dagger to Hiccup's face, using his thumb to brush over his lips. Hiccup felt like his heart had stopped beating, like the wound that Dagur had inflicted twelve hundred and thirteen years ago had re-opened and was now gushing out what remained of his ability to function.  
He heard his dad's voice echo through his head.

_"Just…promise me that you'll be safe out there, alright?"  
_

He felt useless tears well up in eyes at the thought of his Dad, heading back home from the battle to an empty house, after losing the only family that he had left. He thought about Gobber, having to work the bellows in the blacksmith shop by himself even with his old age and aching back. He thought about Astrid, heading back to the village and joining up with the rest of the now leader-less dragon riders, probably blaming herself for what happened.

That is, if they had even made it home.

He wanted to reach back through time and tell them everything was fine. He was fine, Toothless was fine and none of what happened was any of their faults. He wanted to see them again, to tell them how much he missed them, to tell them about all of the conversations that he had invented and letters he had written them in his mind.  
His heart ached with a deep and poignant pain that seemed to spread throughout his very being.  
He…he wanted to see them all again, just for a moment, so that he could tell them all the things that he had never got the chance to when he was alive. The little things that burned at the back of his mind whenever he thought of them, along with all the opportunities to let them know about those things that he had let slip by.

He wanted to tell his Dad that he was the best one that he could've ever asked for. He wanted to tell Gobber that working with him was one of the few things that allowed him to keep his sanity in the many days and nights before Toothless arrived.

He wanted to thank Astrid for convincing him to go after Toothless and helping him to defeat the Red Death.

He wanted to thank Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs and tell them how much he had appreciated them coming together and standing with him when he needed them the most.

He wanted…he wanted to tell them all just how much he had loved them, and how his heart felt too heavy in his chest with the love that he still had for them, locked away deep within its chasms with no way for him to show it to them.

He closed his eyes and let the tears slip down his cheeks, only vaguely aware of Dagur roughly wiping them away as dark clouds began to cover up the stars above them.

"That's right Hiccup," He murmured quietly under his breath. "Just give in."

He brought his lips closer to Hiccup's only to have Toothless let out a cry of rage that startled Hiccup and caused his eyes to fling open, his situation coming flooding back to him. Kneeing Dagur hard in his crotch and using the second in which he cried out in pain, he scrambled to his feet again and made a break for Toothless.  
"Toothless!" He called, hand outstretched towards his best friend.  
Toothless rushed forwards to try and grab Hiccup but was frozen by the reappearance of the dagger that had ended his best friend's life at said friend's neck.

Hiccup didn't move, just watched the dagger as it hung in mid-air, sharp tip pointed threateningly at his neck. Behind him, he heard Dagur give another groan of pain and pull himself back to his feet.  
"Going so soon, _Hic_?" Dagur growled. "Shouldn't you show a little gratitude to the guy who answered all your questions?"  
"_Guy who answered all my questions_?" Hiccup snapped; fury written all over his face as tears continued to slide down his cheeks, thunder rumbling in the distance. "You…_you're_ the _reason_ that I had those questions in the _first place_!" A faint drizzle of rain began to fall from the clouds that had gathered overhead.  
Dagur rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be such a drama queen, Hiccup." He started to walk towards Hiccup again.  
Hiccup felt his whole body shake in fear and rage. "You-you-_you_ _killed me_ and you're telling me not to be a _drama queen_?" The wind began to pick up speed as it whipped around them, causing several leaves to fall to the ground and join the hundred of others while sharpening the raindrops into thousands of tiny pins that pricked their skins. "I'll never see _anyone_ that I loved _ever again_, and it's all because of _you_."  
Dagur reached Hiccup and walked around to face him.  
"Aw, look, you're trembling." Dagur put his hand under Hiccup's chin and tilted his head up. "It suits you."  
Hiccup met Dagur's icy green eyes with his liquid emerald pools and tried to choke down the sobs that threatened to rack his body.

A self-satisfied smirk spread across Dagur's face as closed his eye and leaned down to press his lips to Hiccup's.  
Only to be blown away from him by a blast of ice that sent him flying into the nearest tree and caused his concentration to be broken enough for the dagger that was pointing as Hiccup's neck to drop to the ground.

Hiccup stood there in shock, trying to remember how to breathe and thanking whatever Gods were listening, as Jack Frost burst into the clearing and appeared at Hiccup's side, travelling the same speed as the rampaging wind. Toothless rushed forward and nuzzled Hiccup's face and neck, checking him over to see the extent of his injuries, letting out a low growl when he took in the small scratch on Hiccup's neck.  
"Hiccup!" Jack grasped Hiccup's shoulders and took in his scared and tearful expression before taking in the raging storm around them. "What's going on?"  
Hiccup looked up at Jack, relief rolling off of him in waves and the wind dying down. "Jack…"  
Jack felt his heart stop at Hiccup's broken voice before it began to beat again, pumping anger as well as blood throughout his body.

He wrapped his arms around Hiccup's shaking form protectively. Hiccup froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around Jack as well, burying his head in his chest. Jack ran his left hand up and down Hiccup's back in a soothing motion as Hiccup sobbed into his hoody, tears mingling with the sudden downpour of rain and soaking the blue material  
"Jack." Hiccup cried. "Jack…I…he…"  
"Shhh…hey, it's going to ok…." Jack replied softly.

"You know _Hic_, he seems to have a lot more to do with this then you bothered to tell me."

Jack, Hiccup and Toothless all turned sharply at the sound of the voice to see Dagur standing upright once again, dagger in hand. "Mind letting go of him, _Jack_?"  
Jack tightened his grip on Hiccup. "Like hell I would."  
Dagur expression darkened before he shrugged. "Not that it matters if you don't, just makes you one more person for me to get rid of." Dagur stated, glee rising in his tone as he raised his hand and prepared to throw the dagger.  
Hiccup's eyes widened in horror as an image of Jack lying on the cold autumn ground, surrounded by his own blood sprung to the front of his mind.

He couldn't lose someone else, not now.

Not ever.

A bolt of lightning shot through the air surrounding them and struck the ground in front of Dagur, flinging him back through the trees and far, far away from Jack's line of sight. Toothless gave a cry of surprise and Jack's eyes widened with shock. He glanced down at Hiccup to check that he was all right, who looked at where Dagur had flown through the trees with unseeing, dull green eyes. He felt his stomach plummet with an awful nagging feeling. "Hiccup?"  
The dragon rider didn't reply and Jack felt panic begin to set it for a reason he couldn't quite explain. "Hiccup!" He cried, shaking him; trying to bring him back to his senses. The menacing crackling of lightning bolts in the clouds above interrupted his efforts and he stopped shaking Hiccup, instead drawing him closer into the little protection that his arms could offer.

"Where did this even come from?" He muttered, eyeing the full-blown storm around them.

"Jack!" He barely heard his name being called over the howl of the wind and turned to see North's sleigh hurtling towards them, landing with a 'thud' that was swallowed up by the storm surrounding them. Bunny leaned over the side of the sleigh and heaved several times, Tooth rubbing his back with one hand and clutching her fairies close to her with the other. North and Sandy got out of the sleigh and made their way over to the three through the wind with great difficulty, North having to grab Sandy when he was almost blown away and tug him along the rest of the way.  
"What's going on?" Jack hollered over the wind.  
North shouted something back that was lost in the wind, putting Sandy in front of him and pushing him closer to Hiccup, who's eyes widened slightly as another lightning bolt struck the ground to the group's left, way too close for Jack's comfort.  
"Don't get me wrong!" Jack called to the storm above. "I'm extremely grateful to you for kicking Dagur's ass, but I would appreciate it if my _own_ ass was left alone."

North was gesturing frantically towards Hiccup and Sandy, trying to convey his message without words. Jack shook his head, not understanding what North was trying to get him to do.  
Toothless, however, well versed in communication without words, quickly understood and head butted Jack and Hiccup within reaching distance of North and Sandy. The latter of which promptly reached forward and sent a wave of sand at Hiccup, whose eyes abruptly lost their dullness and began to shine softly again before slipping closed, his body going limp in Jack's arms.

The storm around them died down instantly.

Jack looked around them, confusion evident.  
"Would someone mind telling me what the hell just happened?"  
Bunny glanced over, having regained his breath and composure.  
"The kid told us earlier that he made it rain sometimes." He told him, fur still looking a little green. "Guess he decided to leave out the fact that he can cause massive storms whenever he feels like it too."

Jack felt his jaw drop in shock.

"Are you saying that _Hiccup _caused this?" He asked, disbelief flooding his tone. "He was in shock! He wouldn't even respond when I called him name a few moments ago; how could he summon a storm like that?"  
Tooth left Bunny's side and flew over to Jack, resting a hand on Hiccup's forehead. "He probably felt so scared that his powers just took over and did what they thought they needed to in order to protect him."  
Jack shook his head. "But, I was right here with him the whole time! I even told him before we left North's castle that I'd look after him!" He glanced down at the sleeping boy in his arms. "Why did he feel so scared…"

"But you weren't with him whole time, were you Jack?" North said, a serious note creeping into the normal jovial man's tone.  
Jack glanced back up at North, guilt plainly visible on his face  
"I—"  
Tooth glanced at him, disappointment obvious. "Jack?" She asked, and he could her silently pleading him to say it wasn't. "You left Hiccup alone and headed off to try and find Dagur by yourself didn't you?" North stated, Jack not bothering to ask how he knew.

Jack hung his head. "I just thought, that if I found Dagur before Hiccup, I could beat him without Hiccup having to deal with him. Back at the pole, he seemed absolutely terrified at the thought of running into Dagur again." Tooth moved forward to try and console Jack, but North stopped her and she just glanced at the two teens before heading back to the sleigh. Jack brushed the damp hair out of Hiccup's face and wiped away the last remnants of his tears. "I—I don't know, I just…I wanted to keep him safe." Toothless grunted at this statement and shot Jack a death glare as North sighed. "It was good thought Jack; but it seems to have backfired in situation we are in." He turned back to the sleigh. "Let us head back to north pole; Sandy." He called behind him. Sandy turned to face Jack and Toothless, raising his hand before sending a wave of sand at the dragon and causing him to slump to the ground in a peaceful slumber. Lifting his hands, he guided the dragon on a curtain of sand and deposited him on the floor of the sleigh, curled up in a black ball. Turning to Jack, he smiled at him and formed an image of Hiccup in a wedding dress and Jack in a tuxedo carrying him bridal style in sand above his head.

Jack felt the blood rush to his cheeks. "Sandy!"

The sandman shrugged before heading back to the sleigh and hopping on.  
Jack looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms and sighed before hooking an arm under his legs and hoisting him up bridal style. "When you wake up, you're going to kill me for this, I just know it."

Carefully, he made his way over to the sleigh and jumped on, floating gently down onto the seat and leaning against the side of the sleigh, letting Hiccup rest his head on his shoulder. With a small kitten-like sound, Hiccup curled closer into Jack's body, Toothless emitting a similar sound as he curled further into a ball. Hiccup sighed, enjoying the cold chill that came off of Jacks body and causing a smile to bloom across Jack's face. Jack held Hiccup closer to him and Hiccup let a murmur of satisfaction, burying his head further into Jack's shoulder.

"Oh, I really wish I had a camera right now." He heard Bunny chuckle and he shot him a look, but didn't release his grip on Hiccup.

If anything, he clutched him tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the late update everyone! ^^  
Hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon or Rise Of The Guardians.**  
**Those belong to Dreamworks.**

* * *

Pitch surveys the scene before him, gleaming grin not leaving his face. Dagur has already informed him of what happened and headed back to Pitch's lair, eyes dark and burning as he mutters several ways of killing a certain pale haired teen under his breath, letting out small bursts of laughter as he goes from one idea to the next.  
Pitch looks at the scorched earth and the trees that stand with significantly less leaves on their branches than before the ferocious storm rocked the forest and town. Beyond the outlines of the trees, he can see several power lines that were knocked out, leaving the majority of town in darkness.

Just how he likes it.

He highly doubts that it was Jack who caused this storm, the spirit of frost had a rather excellent control over his powers, and anyway, his storms tended to involve a lot more snow.  
But a certain dragon-riding Viking spirit that was still lost in this strange, new world?

Well, that was a whole other story.

He leans down and picks up a scorched leaf from the closer of the two burnt circles of earth and feels his grin widen as he clenches it in his fists before releasing it and letting a maniacal laugh rip from his throat as the disintegrated pieces float back down to the ground below.  
He turns to look up at the moon, glaring down at him with obvious disapproval.  
"Hiccup, hmm?" He murmurs, eyes burning a harsh gold as he steps back into the shadows and disappears.

_Interesting.  
_

* * *

Hiccup can see them.

He reaches a hand forward cautiously before throwing said caution to the wind and running into his dad's outstretched arms. His dad lets out a small grunt of surprise at the force of the impact before chuckling and wrapping his arms around Hiccup's small body. Hiccup feels the sobs building up in his throat as he struggles to tell his dad everything that had built up inside of him over the three hundred and three years that he has spent staring into the rain, trying to pretend that the shapes that moved in the forest below were his friends; coming to finally bring him to Valhalla. But there are so many things, and he just can't find the right words, even though Odin only knows how many times he'd rehearsed them, saying them over and over again until he was certain that they were perfect.

He finds that all of that time spent rehearsing means nothing now, now that he can finally feel his dad hugging him back before releasing him and turning back towards the fields that expand as far as Hiccup can see.  
A grin lights up his freckled face as he catches sight of Astrid, Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout, all with their dragons. Astrid's beaming at him and waving her arms rapidly, Snotlout is shooting Hiccup his smug grin, silently challenging him like he always did, the Twins are alternating between waving hello and knocking their heads together, Fishlegs is smiling while cuddling Meatlug and Gobber is sitting calmly in the grass, cleaning his hook and sending Hiccup a smile and a 'what took you so long?' look.

Hiccup takes off running towards them, across the fields, stumbling slightly and laughing at himself as he continues forwards, reaching his friends in a matter of moments.  
Astrid launches herself at him and gives him a hug as the others rush forward to meet him and he beams at them, opening his mouth to tell them all how much he's missed them and—

But nothing comes out.

He clutches at his throat; panic beginning to set in as he tries to force air from his lungs in order to from the words that he so desperately needs them to hear. Their smiles drop and they gaze at him sadly, as he tries desperately to ask them what in Hel's name is going on and feels the urge to throw up when the words still won't escape his body. Astrid tightens her grip on him, almost as though she is trying to confirm that she's really there with him, and behind him he can feel his dad's hand resting on a shoulder, grounding him like it had always done, and giving him a sense of safety and security. He can feel the love pouring into him from everyone as they stand around, forming a protective circle around him. Astrid leans back and tries to speak, but Hiccup's can't hear her words, he can only see her mouth moving. He shakes his head and Astrid's eyes begin to shine as she tightens her grip on him, blinking several times to try and banish the forbidden tears from her eyes.

His father tightens his grip on his shoulder and he glances back up at him, knowing that the sadness and heartbreak he finds there is his fault. He feels his own eyes tear up, but instead of holding them back, he lets them run down his cheeks and stain the perfect green of the grass below. He feels his heart break for his dad; he doesn't even get to be with his son in death. And he feels his heart break for himself; as he stands there with an invisible curtain separating him from the ones that he loves, preventing him from truly being there with them.  
And the sad, awful reality that he has locked away in the recess of his mind escapes from its prison and hits with full-force.  
He can never truly be with them.

Not anymore.

He reaches forwards and pulls himself away from Astrid before hiding his face in his dad's stomach and crying, just like he used to do when he had been beat up or teased by the other kids in the village, and was still young enough for it be acceptable. His dad's hand hesitates for a moment before resting on his back as Hiccup silently sobs, he can feel everyone's eyes on him and the intense pity that stems from them as it burns into Hiccup's back. Astrid reaches forward and puts a hand on Hiccup's shoulder as he cries, and he snuggles farther into his dad's stomach, letting the comfort they were sending him work its way into his bloodstream.

When the sobs have died down to little hiccups, and he has recovered enough to laugh at the irony of it, he lifts his head from his dad's stomach and looks back into his face, offering a weak smile he attempts to convey all the things that he has to tell him with a single look; understanding that he would never know for sure if his feelings had reached through that curtain, but knowing that he had to try all the same.

After a moment, his dad sends the same smile back, and Hiccup drinks in the love it gives him like someone who had found an oasis in the desert, enjoying the soothing feeling that it spreads throughout his being. Once he gains his fill, he turns back to the others and gives them the same smile, relief encompassing his being when they smile back.

_**"Hiccup."**_

He looks past his dad towards the sound of the voice as it drifts towards him on the gentle wind that runs across the fields, bending the grass slightly as it does so. The others glance at the voice as well, and he can see slight resentment in their eyes, the meaning behind it becoming clear to him in a manner of seconds.

The voice is calling him back, back to the reality that the Gods have so acrimoniously dumped him in, separating him from everyone that he has ever cared about.

It was calling him back where Dagur's voice and touch could reach him

He clenches his fists as panic thrums throughout his body in time to his quickening pulse, his lip quivering at the thought of returning. He glances back at everyone to see them looking at him, worry evident on their faces; even Snotlout was looking at him with concern, an emotion of his that Hiccup could have never imagined being directed towards him.  
He looks at them helplessly; he doesn't want to go back, doesn't want to leave them.

Couldn't the gods cut him some slack?

_**"Hiccup, come on, wake up."**_

His eyes widen and his head turns back to the voice so fast that it nearly spins off his neck.

_Jack._

Jack was calling him back.

He feels his heart thump unevenly his chest at the thought, and a slight flush to rise to his cheeks. Stoick notices his reaction and steps forward, catching Hiccup's eyes and refusing to let go, silently communicating.

_You have to go back.  
_

In his heart, Hiccup knows that he is right, knows that the pulling feeling in his chest is never going to let him stay with them forever, even if the gods do. But that same heart is the one violently protesting leaving everyone again. And it screams and thrashes around in his chest at the mere thought.  
Hiccup shakes his head, eyes pleading.

_I want to stay with you._

He sees Stoick's mouth and body move in what he knows to be a sigh before the man kneels down and clasps a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. He points behind him to his friends and Gobber and then to himself before pointing to Hiccup's heart.

_We'll be with you, always.  
_

_**"Hiccup, please."**_

Hiccup follows his movements and gazes up at him, eyes pooling with tears before he shoves them down with a gulp and gives his father one last hug before letting go of him for the final time. He looks at his friends and gives them a wobbly smile before waving goodbye. Astrid's lips are tightened in a thin line as she waves good-bye, tears gathering back up in her eyes, Fishlegs is sobbing horribly as he waves, the Twins are teasing each other about the gathering tears in each other's eyes that they both refuse to admit, Snotlout's mouth is trembling at the corners as he crosses his arms and pretends that he isn't watching Hiccup out of the corner of his wet eyes, and Gobber simply sends him a cheeky grin and a thumbs up, trying to hide the sadness lurking beneath his cheerful exterior. Hiccup turns towards his father and sends him another smile before making a fist with his hand and the scariest Viking face he can manage. Stoick laughs but, even though the sound can't reach Hiccup, he knows that it was broken slightly at the end by a sob. Hiccup turns away from the group and takes in the green fields one more time before stepping towards the voice.

_**"Hiccup!"  
**_

* * *

Hiccup's eyes snapped open to meet Jack Frost's concerned ones hovering over him.  
"Jack?" He mumbled, sleep still clinging to him, "Wha's goin on?"  
"Hiccup." The concern in Jack's eyes lessened slightly. "Are you alright?"  
Hiccup yawned, confused, "Why wouldn't I be?" He looked around the room, taking in the ice sculptures hanging in the corner and the soft bed he was lying in, directly across from a window on the opposite wall, before yawning again. With a rumbling sound, Toothless made his appearance and nuzzled Hiccup affectionately before licking his face. Hiccup smiled and pushed the dragon away. "Hey, bud, good to see you too." He tried to sit up, and Jack moved out of the way, going back to sitting at the end of the bed. "You were crying in your sleep, so I thought that maybe Pitch had got to you and was giving you a nightmare." Jack explained, concern back to full strength, "Are you sure you're alright?"  
Hiccup paused as the dream came rushing back to him, a bitter smile playing along his lips.  
"I'm fine, don't worry." He assured Jack, "I was just…talking to some old friends…"

Jack took in his pained expression and decided to drop the subject.

Hiccup petted Toothless in silence for a moment before something clicked in his foggy brain and he sent Jack a confused glance.  
"Wait…how was I asleep? I mean; I haven't slept for…three hundred and three years, so how come—?"  
"Sandy put you to sleep with his sand." Jack interrupted.  
Hiccup's nose wrinkled as he became even more confused. "Sand?"  
"Yeah, that's his job, he puts children to sleep with his sand and gives them good dreams." Jack leaned back against the wall. "Pitch tried to use manipulate Sandy's dreams and turn them into nightmares last time we thought, and he would've won, if not for yours truly." Jack did a little flourish with his hand before sending Hiccup a smirk. "No need to thank me."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I wasn't planning to."

Jack's sent him a look of mock hurt and Hiccup felt the last of the grogginess seep out of his body. Stretching and yawning, he glanced around the room again before turning back to Jack. "So…where are we? And…how did we get here?"  
Jack tapped his stick against the leg of the bed, causing patterns of frost to spread upwards along it. "North took us back to the pole in his sleigh, we're in one of his guest rooms now; he and the others are upstairs talking about…what happened."  
Hiccup's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before everything snapped into place, sending a stinging current of emotions and memory searing through his mind.

His eyes widened and his hands began to shake as he reached up and grabbed the side of his head. "_Oh gods_." He breathed, fingers tightening painfully in his hair as a few strands fluttered to the bedspread. "Oh _gods_, I—"  
"Hey, hey, Hiccup, calm down." Jack leapt up from his position at the end of the bed and rushed forwards, gently removing Hiccup's hands from his hair and holding them; trying to stop the shaking. "It's okay, you're safe now."

A lie.

He could never be safe again, not now that Dagur knew that they still breathed the same air.  
Hiccup looked into Jack's eyes; his shining, beautiful blue eyes that were trying so very hard to transmit a sense of calm to him. Eyes that were nothing like the dull glass orbs that had stared unseeingly in the body who's snow white hair had been stained by the dark liquid that had seeped through the blue hoody and pooled on the leaves below; staining the beautiful colors that Hiccup had created an ugly, ugly shade of red. These shining eyes hadn't taken in the image of their own broken form, pale limbs askew on the cold, unforgiving ground; stick laying a short distance from one outstretched hand, the limp shape contrasting horrifically against the dagger that was sticking so rigidly out of the corpse's chest.  
Hiccup looked at the care and concern and affection that shined so brightly in those eyes and he felt his stomach plummet; nausea rising at the thought that those feelings were what was going to get him killed, and all because they were directed at Hiccup.

Because Dagur wasn't going to stop until he had Hiccup in the palm of his hand, just like he'd always wanted, and had made exceptionally clear that he still wanted at the clearing. He was going to find him and drag him kicking and screaming through as many bloodstained bodies as he had too, laughing manically and enjoying himself immensely as he did so. He could see it in his mind, Dagur gripping his heel as he dragged him through the tainted dirt, passing by the lifeless bodies of the Guardians until he reached Jack, his eyes boring into Hiccup's soul, silently accusing and damning him for what he had done.

The thought of Jack's lifeless body was enough to inhibit his lung function enough that his breaths now came in strangled gasps. Jack took in this new development with another spike in his concern levels and tightened his grip on Hiccup's hands.  
"Hiccup, shh…it's going to be ok…" Jack removed a hand from one of Hiccup's and pushed a stray hair out of Hiccup's face. "I'll keep you safe. I promise."  
Hiccup's eyes widened, panic increasing. Jack was set on protecting him, he could tell by the determined tone that his voice took on. And that was the worst thing that could possibly have happened, Dagur would tear Jack to pieces for daring to stand between the two of them.

He couldn't let that happen.

Jack…he was too important; had become too tightly bound to his heart in just a day, and Hiccup couldn't let him sacrifice his and the other Guardian's safety and the safety of the children that they protected just to protect some 'runt of the litter' Viking.

There was only one solution.

He would have to give himself up to Dagur.

That way, at least he would have a chance, no matter how slim, of convincing the spirit to leave the other Guardians alone; and hopefully make him believe that joining up with Pitch to try and take out the other Guardians was too much effort for too little reward.

It was the only way.

"Hiccup?"  
Jack didn't like the look in Hiccup's eyes; they were unfocused and frantic, looking off into something that he couldn't see and keeping Hiccup somewhere he couldn't reach him.

It scared him.

Hiccup turned those eyes towards him, looking without seeing.  
"I have to go." He mumbled, trying to get up off the bed, only to be pulled back by Jack.  
"Go where?" Jack asked, a gnawing feeling pulling at him.  
Hiccup tried to tug his hands away, not meeting Jack's eyes as he continued to try and leave the bed. Jack's grip moved from Hiccup's hands to his wrists and Hiccup winced, ceasing his tugging.  
"Go where?" The frost spirit demanded; a cold that perfectly matched his tone beginning to crawl it's way up Hiccup's arms as the gnawing feeling in Jack's gut pulled harder at him.  
Hiccup's eyes began to refocus as he tugged harder at the freezing hands. "Let go of me!" He cried angrily, the sky outside the window beginning to darken.  
Jack shook his head. "Not until you tell me where you're planning on going."  
Hiccup clenched his hands into fists. "I have to go and find Dagur!" He told him, Jack's eyes widening. "I'm the only one that can convince him to leave everyone alone!" He resumed trying to break free of Jack's grasp. "If I don't then he'll—he'll—" Hiccup choked as the images began to rise up again and struggled harder, desperate to get away. Outside the sky grew darker.

Jack wanted nothing more than to hold the boy close and send the awful choking sound he was making away, but he kept his grip on Hiccup's wrist, scared that if he let go for even a moment, he would never see Hiccup again. "Hiccup, you told us yourself, the guy's _deranged_. What makes you think that he'll listen to you?"

"Because I'm what he wants!" Hiccup shot back, not ceasing his frantic struggle.

Jack froze, heart pounding loudly in his chest and pumping disbelief and confusion through his veins. "What?"

Jack fought hard against the little voice in his head that told him exactly what Hiccup meant by that, instead choosing to prolong the inevitable answer in the vain hope of a better one. Though Hiccup was too busy struggling to notice the absolutely frigid quality that Jack's voice had taken on, he gave a gasp of surprise as an intense wave of cold swept through his body from his wrists. Jack; too intent on discovering the meaning behind Hiccup's words, neglected to notice the cold that he was pumping into the younger teen's body. Toothless regarded the two before him warily before retreating to window and growling at the worsening weather, instinct telling him that it would be bad to intervene between the two, as anything that he did might agitate the situation more than necessary and push the two past their breaking point.

Hiccup suppressed a shiver and struggled to get his brain to think against the cold. "A-at the treaty meeting, when he announced that he was declaring war on us, and my dad tried to convince him not to; he told us that he would only listen to negotiations if I was the one to talk to him. And he wanted to do it one on one, without the other tribesmen." He took in a shaky breath. "My dad was against it, but I convinced him to let me try; if there even the slightest chance for us to diffuse the situation, I didn't want to let it slip by. I tried to tell Dagur that the dragons weren't a threat to the Berserker tribe, but he wasn't interested in listening to reason." Hiccup laughed humorlessly. "He wasn't interested in listening to anything I had to say."

Jack didn't like where this was going at all.

"He…he offered me…a deal." Hiccup struggled to form the words against another wave of cold that pulsed through his being. "He…said that he wouldn't attack Berk, if I came with him and taught him and the rest of his tribe how to train dragons. He said he wanted to make the Berserker tribe even more fearsome and deadly. He said not to worry, and that if I went with him he'd make sure to take really good care of Berk…and me." He shivered, but not because of the cold.

"And then he kissed me."

Jack's hands tightened painfully around Hiccup's wrists and he swallowed down a cry of pain as a more intense wave of cold swept through him. But Jack could only see Dagur's lips as they moved forward and captured Hiccup's in an endless loop; watching the fear and panic cloud Hiccup's beautiful eyes as that maniacal grin descended again and again upon the autumn spirit. A burning sensation filled his chest as horror and anger swept through him at the thought of Hiccup being violated that way. Along with that anger and revulsion was another emotion that Jack couldn't describe. It was mixed in with his need to protect Hiccup, and made him want to clutch the boy tightly to his body and cover his lips with his own; in an effort to try and erase any trace of Dagur that still remained on his lips. It was an emotion that he quickly shoved to the side, feeling furious with himself for possessing it when Hiccup was so distraught and feeling guilty and confused as to why he would even possess it in the first place.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was lost in the memory of the kiss. He recalled the horrible taste that had filled his mouth as Dagur had pinned him against the back wall of the feasting hall and taken full advantage of the little gasp that Hiccup had so stupidly made to stick his tongue inside Hiccup's mouth. He remembers struggling uselessly against Dagur's strength, using the moment that Dagur released him to draw in another breath to let out the loudest scream of his life. It had shocked Dagur, sending him scrambling backwards, and caused his dad to burst into the room and rush to his side, his eyes raking over his body; he seemed to know almost instantly what had happened. Blocking out Hiccup form view, the chief had turned around and told Dagur that if it was war he wanted than it was war that he would get. Then he ordered the Berserker and his tribesmen off of the shores of Berk and left Gobber to look after Hiccup and he personally escorted them to their boats.

Hiccup swallowed down the memory with great effort, trying to get back to the matter at hand. "And when we were in the clearing, he tried to kiss me again. Which must mean that he still wants me to…agree to his deal. So if I go find him, and tell him that I want to accept his deal, then maybe I can convince him to leave you and the rest of the Guardians alone. And, given his attention span and his attitude towards commitments, it shouldn't be too hard to convince him that helping Pitch would be too boring for him to handle." He looked at Jack, silently entreating him to listen to his next statement. "If I don't go, then he'll just look for me, destroying everything and everyone that crosses his path. So _please, _Jack, let me go. It's the only way to keep everyone safe."

Jack met Hiccup's gaze, that same emotion rising once again to the surface as he pictured Hiccup and Dagur meeting up, Dagur's hand sliding around his waist as he drew him closer and leaned down once again to connect their lips together—  
Jack dropped Hiccup's wrists and clenched his hands against the fabric of his pants in an attempt to try and banish the feeling.

Hiccup's face flooded with relief. "Thank-you."

Hiccup rubbed his sore wrists; pretty sure the only reason that they weren't black and frozen lumps was because autumn was so close to winter, and his spirit body was used to the lovely cold chills of the season. Even so, he was pretty sure they were going to bruise in nice, Jack-shaped, fingerprints. He resisted the urge to rub his arms, to try and warm his body up a little, and turned to get off of the bed; stopping when Jack spoke again.  
"So, I'm just supposed to sit here and let you head right back to the _maniac_ that we _just_ got _away_ from," Jack's voice was low and frayed at the edges, "And do _nothing_ while you give yourself up on the off chance that you _might_ be able to convince him to drop his _deranged_ ways?" He caught Hiccup's gaze, blue eyes icy and dark as snow began to fly by outside the window. "What happens if you can't convince him?  
Hiccup looked at him for a moment, the words sticking in his throat, before turning away. "Then I'll take him on with Toothless and try to buy you guys some time."  
Something flared up in Jack's eyes and he pushed Hiccup back down on the bed, putting his hands on either side of Hiccup's head.

Hiccup's eyes widened and tried to get up, only to have Jack push him back down again. "Jack! Get off of me!"  
"So you can rush off and get yourself killed?" Jack snapped, frost spitting out of his hands and freezing the sheets as the alternating images of Dagur sending Jack a smug grin over Hiccup's broken body and Dagur's mouth covering Hiccup's lips tormented his mind. "Not happening."  
Hiccup shook his head, frustration mounting. "You don't understand; this is the only way!"  
_You can't escape this Hiccup, whatever happens, I will have my way._  
Hiccup's whole body trembled, tears pooling in his eyes as thunder rumbled in the distance. "We can't beat him, and if he's going to get me either way then I would prefer if was with as little killing as we can possible manage." He covered his eyes with his hands as rain began to mix in with the snow. "I-I-I just…I don't want you to die because of me; I-I can't handle anyone else leaving me. _Please_; just let me _go_, let me _fix_ this."  
Jack stared at the shaking form below him and felt like crying himself. Outside, the rain and snow had turned to hail.  
"Hiccup." Jack said softly, Hiccup sniffing and letting out a small sob.

He lowered his head. "I can't let you go."

Hiccup removed his hands from his eyes and grabbed the front of Jack's hoody, pulling the boy down closer to his face. "_Why_?" He asked, a desperate tinge to his voice. "Why won't you let me go? Why do you _care_? We…we don't even _know_ each other; we met this _morning _for Thor's sake!"  
"Why are _you_ so _desperate_ to sacrifice yourself?" Jack countered. "Like you said, we _just_ met each other, you don't have attachment _whatsoever_ to me or any of the other Guardians. You could just fly out of here and never talk to anyone of us again," They both ignored the sharp pain in their chests at the thought. "So why bother endangering yourself for us?"  
Hiccup opened and closed his mouth a few times as he searched for the words, a blush rising up in his cheeks; Jack took advantage of his silence to continue.

"Hiccup, listen, even if you did convince Dagur to leave Pitch, we'd still have to deal with Pitch on our own. And frankly, Pitch is more of a problem than Dagur could ever be; that's why we need you to help us, that's why the moon chose you."  
Hiccup shook his head, eyes narrowed. "How do you know? Maybe Máni chose me because he knew that my surrender would be the only thing that kept Dagur from tearing you all to pieces! The world's children need you guys to keep them safe; so it would kind of suck if you got cut down just because of me. " He started to struggle again. "Besides, you four did just _fine_ against him last time!" Jack caught his wrists again and pinned them either side of his head; Hiccup glared upwards at him. "Now, let. Me. Go!"

"For the last time, I'm not going to let you go!" Jack shot back at him, tightening his grip on Hiccup's already sore wrists, as green eyes widened marginally. "You can say whatever you want, but it won't change the fact that I'm not letting you throw the rest of your life away on the off chance that it might keep the rest of us safe. We're _Guardians_, we keep _other_ people safe, and when one of our own is in danger we come together as a team to help them; we don't sacrifice people just to save our own skins."  
"The other Guardians might not think the same way." Hiccup threatened. "What happens if I go tell them why I have to go?"  
"They'll refuse, just like me." Jack told him, not hesitating for a single moment. "And even if they did agree; I still wouldn't let you go."  
Hiccup gave another groan of frustration. "Why won't you _listen_ to me?" He cried. "This is the _only_ way—"

"I _am_ listening to you." Jack cut across. "And what I'm hearing is someone who has just had something really horrible happen to him, and is still in shock about the whole thing. And that shock is making you feel like there's no other way to fix this than to just give in." Jack shook his head. "I can't let you go, even if you feel like this is the only way you can protect us. I don't _want_ to be safe, Hiccup, if it means losing you." Jack's grip tightened yet again, and Hiccup vaguely wondered if the bruises were _ever_ going to fade. "I'd rather have to battle Pitch for as long as the earth keeps spinning than let you go back to _him_." Jack spat the word with an amazing of ferocity. His next words hovered at the tip of his tongue, only being barely held back by his rapidly thinning amount of self-control. _"Knowing about you for the rest of time and being unable to reach you…I couldn't handle that. And I don't know why the idea is so unbearable; I just know that if I let you go then I'll regret it for the rest of my life."_

Hiccup stared back into aching blue eyes and felt his heart begin to ache as well. Jack felt something in him tremble at the sight of his own pain and fear reflected back at him and, with his heart pounding unsteadily in his chest, he let go of Hiccup's wrists before wrapping his arms around the boy's body. He lay down beside him, and put a hand on the back of his head to draw him closer. "Please Hiccup, let me _protect_ you. Don't you trust me?" Jack's voice cracked at the last statement, and Hiccup felt his heart leap into his throat. "I do trust you Jack." He told him, slowly wrapping his arms around the cold teen. "Which _probably_ isn't smart of me seeing as we just met, and you're the first person that I've talked to in a _really_ long time. And I really don't want to know what that says about how desperate I am." Jack let out a dry and cracked chuckle while Hiccup felt a small smile twitch at the corners of his lips. It quickly fell however and he shook his head, burying it into Jack's chest as he did so. "I just…I don't want you to get hurt."

There was a pause.

"Hiccup, I can look after myself."

Hiccup nodded into the teen's chest.

"I know, I mean, you probably wouldn't be a Guardian if you couldn't; it's you wanting to look after _me_ that's the problem."

Jack tightened his grip on Hiccup, providing a painful reminder of the bruise on his shoulder from Dagur's harsh grip and causing Hiccup to hide a wince.

"Hiccup, I _swear_ that I'm going to keep us _both_ safe." Jack pulled back slightly so that their eyes could meet. "So please _believe_ me."

Hiccup stared into those eyes, so full of conviction and convinced of their own power that he felt his already weakening resolve wobble before crashing to the ground. The fight promptly flew out of his body and he felt himself go limp. "Okay." He said, voice thick with emotion.

Jack let out the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

Hiccup pulled back to shoot him a stern look. "But that doesn't mean you get to treat me like some damsel in distress; I'll have you know that Toothless and I can kick butt just as hard, if not harder, as you." Toothless grumbled his agreement and shot a relieved glance at the calm weather outside.  
Jack cocked his head and smirked. "Damsel in distress huh?" His smirk promptly dropped. "Oh, shit."  
"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, concerned at Jack's abrupt change in demeanor.

Jack removed his hand from the back of Hiccup's head to run it through his hair. "Um, listen, would you mind ignoring everything that Bunny says for the next, I don't know…hundred years?"  
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The door flung open with a bang that startled the both of them, causing Hiccup to latch onto Jack tighter. The two turned to look, Hiccup peering over Jack's body, to see the amused shape of Bunnymund hovering in the doorway.  
"Hello newlyweds," The Aussie called in cheerfully, "Hope I'm not disturbing anything."  
Jack muttered some particularly nasty curse words under his breath along with something about kangaroos while Hiccup looked on in confusion. "Newlyweds?"

Bunny laughed at the evil look that Jack sent him, not fazed in the slightest.

"You should've seen it mate; when you fainted, Jack carried you bridal style into the sleigh and held onto you the whole way back to the pole." He ignored the slicing motion that Jack made against his neck and took in the intense blush coupled with a 'please kill me now' look that spread over Hiccup's face with a grin. "He's been sitting here with you ever since we got back, waiting for you to wake up."

Jack was too focused on wondering how many different ways he could strangle Bunny to notice the look of surprise and gratitude that briefly washed over Hiccup's face before being drowned by embarrassment again.

Bunny however, caught the look and smirked before turning around.  
"Well come on lovebirds, the others are waiting upstairs."

Jack and Hiccup both tried to get off the bed before they realized that they were still hugging one another; Hiccup's hands clenching Jack's hoody and Jack's hand wrapped around Hiccup's waist and resting on his lower back. They both promptly blushed and hurried to disentangle themselves from each other amidst Bunny's snickers.

Jack shot him another evil glare. "How is that you just _happened_ to be the one that got chosen to come get us?" He murmured as he walked past the Bunny and went to stand outside while Hiccup got Toothless.

Bunny laughed again. "Chosen?" He gave Jack a smug grin. "Mate; I _volunteered_."

* * *

Dagur stared at the dagger in his hands, running the same thumb that had traced Hiccup's lips over the bloodstained cloth on its hilt.  
Hiccup's blood had been just as he remembered; the droplet running down his throat had mesmerized him, making him want to see more.  
Hiccup's eyes, though hidden behind great pools of beautiful, shining tears had been like he remembered; full of a fire that Dagur got him feeling kind of…tingly. He found himself thinking back to when he first met Hiccup and how this had all begun.

All his life, people had let him do whatever he wanted; when he was young it was because he was the son of the chief and when he grew up it was because they were terrified of what he would do to them if they didn't. They granted his every wish and let him do just what he pleased. The only person who ever ordered him around was his father, though in retrospect he _had_ fixed that fairly quickly, and he resented him for it. Resented the restraints that his father tried to bind him with, figuratively and literally, and soon came to hate anyone that dared to refuse him, even if they were doing so for his own good.

He hadn't thought that Hiccup was anything special at first, just a small runt of a boy whose father managed to keep hidden from sight, causing him to believe the boy was a weakling, too sickly to stand let alone wield an ax. That is, until the year that Dagur turns ten and decides that means he is old enough to run around Berk without any adult supervision. But since he knows that said adults would disagree, he waits until his father and Stoick are lost in their conversation before slipping away and heading away from the village and into the forest, where there will hopefully be some wild boars or lost sheep to kill.

He has been walking for quite a while without any luck when he comes across a small clearing, suffused with warm sunlight, and a small boy sitting on a rock in said clearing, doodling away happily with some of charcoal in a leather bound notebook.

Dagur watches for him for a moment in stunned silence; it is the first time that he's seen someone smile so carefree. Everyone around him always looks at him with barely disguised fear or open repugnance before vacating the immediate vicinity as soon as they could possibly manage.  
He tips his head to the side and takes in the soft freckled skin of the boy before him, his brown hair shining in the warm sunlight. He is tiny, and stick thin, one look tells Dagur that it wouldn't take much effort to overpower the small body. There shouldn't be anything particularly special about this boy, not by any normal Viking standards, but that lovely smile has captivated Dagur, drawing him towards the small boy. It makes him aware that though he has everything that a Viking could ask for: a fearsome reputation, weapons galore, and his strength, and all at the tender age of ten, there is still something missing.

The pull causes him to take a step forwards without realizing it, and this action accidently snaps a branch underfoot, causing the small boy to jerk up and glance around him, fear knocking the smile off of his face. Dagur feels irritation fling through his veins at the disappearance of the smile and before the boy can move farther than a few steps away from his rock, he flings a dagger at his feet, already so strong that the blade sinks several inches into the earth. The boy gives a cry of surprise and falls backwards onto the ground, notebook and charcoal flying from his grasp. He regards the dagger with terror, frantically looking around for anyone as he gropes for his notebook.

Dagur laughs and steps into the meadow, enjoying the fear on his face, just as the boy reaches his notebook. The boy's head whips around to face Dagur and his eyes widen at the sign of the Berserker crest. Standing up as quickly as he can manage, he attempts to make a break for the woods, but is easily caught by Dagur and his long legs. Throwing the boy back to the ground, he watches in interest at the boy regards him with green pools of fear, but with a spark of something that Dagur hasn't seen before lingering in the back. It's this something that interests him as he leans down to pick up dagger and points it threateningly at the boy, who gulps and tries to make himself even smaller than he already is. Dagur chuckles and twirls the dagger between his hands, "Hey, what's your name?"

The boy shakes under his gaze and stutters out his answer. "H-H-Hiccup."

Dagur pauses his twirling to look at him. This scrawny thing is the chief's son?

He grins; it makes sense why the chief wouldn't want Hiccup to meet him now. This scrawny thing could barely wrestle a sheep, let alone another Viking, and gods forbid if he ever came across a dragon.

While Dagur is lost in thought, Hiccup attempts to sneak away, a plan that fails almost instantly when Dagur notices him moving and throws his dagger just inches away from Hiccup's face.  
Hiccup turns to look at him, and Dagur grins at him. "Hiccup, huh? Hey, how old are you?"  
Hiccup sniffs. "Seven."  
Dagur beams.  
"Well, I'm ten. So that means since I'm older that you have to do _everything_ I say."

Hiccup shakes his head.

"My dad said that I'm not supposed to talk to anybody who wore that crest. He'll be mad if he finds out I left the house." He moves to get up again and Dagur pins him down with his foot.  
"_I'm_ in charge here, and I'm _bored_. I want to play with you." Dagur tells him harshly, eyes daring him to contradict his authority. "If you don't play with me, then I'll tell your dad."  
Hiccup's eyes widen and he swallows, throat going horribly dry at the thought of his father finding out that he left the house. "W-What do you want to play?" He asks nervously.  
Dagur reaches past him to pick up the dagger, twirling it around again.  
He grins. "Target practice."  
Unfortunately, his aim back then was not as good as it was now so, in the end, thanks to a slice in Hiccup's arm, Hiccup's father ended up finding out anyway.  
As the Berserkers sail away from Berk, Dagur turns to his father and asks how soon they will be back.

* * *

The next few years are a blur of knife-throwing and other shenanigans as he leads Hiccup all over the island, glad of the time that they have to themselves where no one else can see all the little expressions that _he_ makes Hiccup have; where no one else can take Hiccup's attention away from him. Where no one can notice Dagur's glances as Hiccup gradually becomes more...interesting? He isn't sure, and he hates being unsure, it's a foreign feeling to him, one that he usually gets rid of by him killing/destroying whatever is within reach until he forgets what he was unsure about. But he finds that no matter how many chickens or wild boars that he cuts down, whether Hiccup is with him or not, he can't banish the feeling.

It is on his sixth visit to Hiccup, when he is sixteen and Hiccup is thirteen that he suggests they go swimming. Hiccup is reluctant at first, but eventually agrees when Dagur pins him against a tree and threatens to cut off his arm with his brand new ax. The two make their way down to the beach, Dagur tossing his tunic, armor and boots off as soon as they hit the sand. Hiccup slowly removes his clothing, leaving only his pants before cautiously following Dagur to the water, where the Berserker heir has taken a sharpened stick and is currently looking for fish to spear with it. Dagur glances over at Hiccup as he stands knee deep in water and takes in his slender body, feeling his heart thump louder than it should be. And he feels more unsure than ever before, and this irritates him, irritates almost as much as the fact that he hasn't seen that smile that captivated to easily since the day that he first met Hiccup.

And now Hiccup is just standing there staring at him with open fear, and he is no longer separate from the others, who just stand and stare at him with their fear and disgust. And for some reason, this upsets him; because Hiccup is supposed to be different, he's supposed to be interesting, not dull and boring like everyone else is to him unless they fight back. But even they quickly lose their appeal when they are nothing but cold bodies gushing red onto the unforgiving ground.

It is these thoughts that push him forward and make him grab Hiccup's freckled, skinny arm before dragging him into deeper water and shoving him under. Relishing the struggle that he puts up, arms flailing as he tries to make it back to the air that hovers just above his reach. After a short time, Hiccup's struggling stops and his body goes limp.

Dagur is in the middle of debating whether or not to hold him under until he's just like the rest when his half lidded eyes flick back to Dagur's; just as green and bright as they had been that day in the clearing, where he had found that beautiful smile.

And it's the memory of that smile that convinces Dagur to pull him out of the water and back to air before tossing his body to shallow water; where he lands with a huge splash, coughing up water and struggling to get the much needed air into his lungs again. Dagur laughs at his deep gasping breaths as he strides past Hiccup and picks up his armor and tunic, leaving the boy alone to try and force air back into his lungs.

He leaves Berk that year satisfied that Hiccup is well within his grasp, unnoticed by the majority of the village, who consider him weak and useless. He grins smugly as they sail away; they don't look past his weakness to see the fire that burns in those green eyes. It is a desperate, flickering flame that comes from a deep desire to be seen, to be heard, and to be accepted by the ones who scorn him.

Dagur chuckles, knowing full well that nothing short of a miracle will grant Hiccup's desires, and confident in the knowledge that no one will put up too much of a fuss if he offers to take the burdensome hooligan heir off of their hands.  
Hiccup, the boy in the meadow that showed him that smile, is going to be his.  
But he has to move quickly; he has caught the glances that Hiccup sends that girl Astrid, and the smile that spreads across his face as he does so. And if he does not move fast, that carefree smile that he glimpsed all those years ago will no longer be his.

* * *

The year passes slowly, and he kills more than he has in other years, drawing the attention of his father and inciting fear into the saner members of the Berserker tribe. But for the most part, the torturous year is uneventful.

That is, until about three months before their scheduled trip to Berk.

He is sharpening his ax and day dreaming different scenarios about how he will capture Hiccup, some bloodier than others, (depending on what mood he imagines himself to be in when it happens and whether anyone will stand in his way) when his father cuts into his thoughts with a few loud raps on the entrance way. He grumbles and takes the ax off the grinder before turning to stare at the man, irritation extremely evident.  
His father takes in his aggravated expression and flinches slightly, ever the failure at war making. He clears his throat and

Dagur tightens his grip on the ax at his next words.

It turns out leaving Hiccup to suck air back into his lungs was not such a good idea, as it lead to him being discovered by Stoick and Oswald, who had come to check on the two boys. And unlike the time when Dagur had sliced Hiccup's arm with a dagger, Stoick had not been willing to let the near drowning of his son and heir go so easily.  
Oswald had been told rather sternly that Stoick would rather Dagur stay as far away from Hiccup as the deranged boy could possibly manage.  
Dagur growls at this new development; so Stoick thought he could keep him away from Hiccup? He thought that he could keep that lovely smile all to himself? That was rightfully his? For daring to stand between him and Hiccup, Stoick and the entire village of Berk will have to pay.

But he couldn't go against the entire Hooligan tribe with just his own strength, no, this new scheme would require back up, and a substantial amount of it.

Lucky for him, he is heir to the deadly Berserker tribe.

Raising his ax high above his head, he takes in his father's terrified face with a grin.

It's time to collect his inheritance.

* * *

It's about a week or so before they are scheduled to sail to Berk when he hears about the Red Death.

A trader has sailed into the village, selling exotic goods from his boat. Dagur decides it might be worth a visit to see if he has any interesting weapons and makes his way down to the port. Upon arriving he hears him telling a young boy that his squid ink is reserved for a young hero from Berk. Soon he has cornered the trader in his boat and is demanding information about this so-called "Hero" on Berk. The trader babbles incomprehensibly for a while, and in the end the only thing that Dagur manages to glean from their conversation is that the young heir of the Hooligans has defeated a massive dragon and saved Berk, losing the lower part of his leg in the process, with the help of trained dragons. And now the island of Berk is shared peacefully between the two species.

* * *

Dagur regards the stranger before him, Alvin the Treacherous, with badly disguised boredom, wondering how much of an effort he will have to expend to get rid of him.  
That is, until the stranger tells him that he can prove the hooligans are amassing an army of dragons.  
His trip to Berk the previous year had ended in failure, chased away before he had a chance to take Hiccup by an oddly well-timed dragon attack.

The boy had changed over the last year, the flickering flame in his green eyes turning into a bonfire. He smiled easier, and had seemed more irritated by Dagur's target practice routine than terrified. Hel, he had even joked about Dagur's attempt to drown him the previous year.

It makes Dagur burn.

It makes him burn with such incredible ferocity that he feels like he could do nothing but kill for the rest of his life and he would still be bothered by the flame that even now licks against his insides. And he is tortured at the thought of that precious smile, that he knows to be his alone, being seen by everyone and their mother. _  
_

May Odin damn them all.

It's _his_.

_His_ smile, and _his_ Hiccup.

And he thinks it's high time for him to collect.

So he goes with Alvin, sneaks on Berk and sees Hiccup with the rest of those unworthy lumps of flesh that call themselves his friends. He watches them train the dragons together, Hiccup smiling that carefree smile at everyone there, totally oblivious to Dagur grinding his teeth in the bushes, eyes narrowed in dangerous red hot fury.

They are on their way back to the boat when Dagur realizes his partnership with Alvin isn't going to work out. In exchange for the information, the treacherous Viking requests that he be allowed to keep the heir of the hooligan tribe so that he can exact his revenge on Stoick by taking away the last vestige of his wife and his only son.  
As Dagur's hand reaches back for his sword, he silently laments their doomed partnership.

Who knows; they might've made quite the team.

* * *

The hall is deathly silent after he announces his news, the Chief of the Hooligans stunned along with his beautiful son, who Dagur has been allowing his eyes to run up and down since the Berserkers arrived. Hiccup's eyes are wide with disbelief and horror, shock dropping his jaw and parting his lips. He stares at Dagur in shock, attention finally fixed on him and only him, and Dagur grins at him smugly.

Stoick stands up and blocks Hiccup from view as he tries to convince Dagur that war isn't the answer. Dagur feels annoyance creep through his veins as his visual of Hiccup is swiftly cut off and offers Stoick a deal: He will negotiate, as long as Hiccup's the one to do it. And they negotiate _alone._

Stoick's eyes harden immediately; he is about to reject the offer when Hiccup stands up and asks his father to let him do it, tone firm and unyielding as the famous Viking stubbornness takes hold of him. Stoick glances at his son, trying to convey his fears with a mere glance, but Hiccup has focused his attention back on Dagur, eyes burning bright with their lovely fire. Dagur can't help but think how fitting it is for a dragon trainer to be full of fire.

Stoick sighs and leaves the hall with the rest of the Vikings, shooting Dagur one last glance that dares him to even think about touching even a hair on Hiccup's head.

Dagur chuckles and turns his attention back to Hiccup as the doors swing shut, watching with glee as those green eyes harden and he takes a deep breath.

For a few moments, Dagur lets him talk about how the dragons aren't and will never be a threat, enjoying the fierce determination in his eyes. He let's his gaze travel all over the teen, from his slightly pale cheeks to his slender hips.

Eventually, he gets tired of just sitting and talking and advances quickly towards Hiccup, causing him to retreat into the back wall.

His eyes widen in fear when he realizes that there is nowhere else for him to run, with a wall behind him and a Dagur in front. Before he can cry out for help Dagur has his hands on sides of Hiccup's head and is offering him his deal.  
Come with him now and teach him how to train dragons, or come later when Berk is nothing but a bloody, smoking heap of ruins and teach him how to train dragons after watching his own dragons and tribe be killed before his eyes.  
Without giving him time to answer his question, he removes one hand from the wall and lifts Hiccup's chin up. As he leans down towards Hiccup he whispers that he will make sure to look after Berk and him, before pushing their lips together roughly and using Hiccup's muffled cry of surprise to slide his tongue into Hiccup's mouth.

Kissing the mouth that makes that wonderful smile is an experience that Dagur wonders if he will ever tire of over time. It feels so good, and strokes the burning fire that licks so feverishly at his insides, filling him with pure ecstasy.

Hiccup pounds against his chest and kicks him, a problem that is easily remedied by Dagur pinning Hiccup's hands above his head and pinning his hips against the wall with his own.

Finally, the need for air overpowers all those wonderful feelings and makes Dagur pull him mouth away from Hiccup. The teen just looks at Dagur for a moment, with an expression that Dagur's never seen on his face, before tilting back his head and letting out the most bloodcurdling cry that has ever reached Dagur's ears.

Wincing, he jumps away from Hiccup and covers his ears in an attempt to save at least some of his hearing. The door to the great hall flies open with a bang as Stoick sprints to Hiccup's side faster than Dagur can blink. Stoick carefully looks over his son, who has collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily, eyes impossibly wide, before turning on Dagur. With eyes that burn with a rage so fierce that it makes Dagur tingle with excitement, he orders the Chief and his tribe off the island, telling him that if it's war he wants, than it's war he'll get.

As they sail away from Berk, Dagur licks his lips; enjoying the faint taste of Hiccup that still lingers there and hungering for another taste.

* * *

They grapple on the back of Hiccup's dragon, the night fury, and Dagur is running on a high from all the bloodshed that surrounds them, the sounds of battle spurring him on. Hiccup is panting, tired from the long and arduous battle, and Dagur knows it is all he can manage to keep parrying his blows.

He grins, this is it, he is going to defeat Hiccup and finally claim him as his prize of this long war.

He can almost taste Hiccup's warm lips on his as he raises his dagger and aims at the teen, planning to knock aside the boy's weapon and render him defenseless.

His plans are torn to shreds when the dragon turns abruptly to avoid an arrow and Hiccup scrambles to regain his balance as Dagur lunges too far forwards and ends up hitting a different target.

They both look at the dagger as it protrudes from just above Hiccup's heart and Dagur thinks for one moment that it will be alright; because Hiccup can't possibly die from something so trivial as this, can't have defeated the most fearsome dragon of them all only to die from a simple flesh wound.

But then Hiccup eyes meet Dagur's and reality comes crashing in.

Dagur can see their fire flickering as the gushing red liquid stains his clothes and his breathing hitches in shock and fear. He pulls the dagger out Hiccup's chest and stuffs it back in his belt, pressing down on the wound as he tries to stop the red from staining anymore of Hiccup, but to no avail.

Hiccup's eyes follow Dagur's actions as they begin to lose their focus, a single tear gathering in his left eye.

The night fury cries out as the scent of Hiccup's blood reaches him and cranes his neck backwards to try and see his rider, missing the black arrow that comes careening out of nowhere and pierces his delicate stomach. Giving a roar of pain, the night fury turns sharply, losing altitude as he does so and heading straight towards the cliff wall.

Dagur glances down at the teen in his arms, whose eyes meets his one last time before the flame flickers out and they become dull orbs.

He looks towards the rapidly nearing cliff wall and gathers Hiccup's body in his arms. Closing his green eyes with his fingers before letting his own fall closed, he brings his lips against Hiccup's the second before they make impact; and the moment before they hit, he notices that those lips are still warm.

But he is not sad.

They will be together in Valhalla.

Where Hiccup will finally be his.

* * *

"Lost in memory lane?"

Pitch's voice jars him out of his thoughts.

He turns to look at the boogeyman, who is hovering by the globe and giving him a knowing smile. "Is Hiccup anywhere along that road perchance?"

Dagur puts the dagger back in his belt. "None of your business."

Pitch hums absentmindedly and he turns back to face the globe. "I suppose not. Though I wager that Jack Frost might be another story."

Dagur clenches his jaw as the image of Hiccup in Jack's arms rises up from his memories. Pitch notices this out of the corner of his eyes and allows himself a smile.

"It's a shame; Hiccup would be a valuable asset, what with his ability to summon up storms and all. But I doubt Jack will let us take him without one hell of a fight, judging by how fast he ran back to his aid." Pitch sighed dramatically. "And I _loathe_ to fight him more than I have to, seeing as he's _such_ a _powerful_ spirit. Once he decides he wants something, than there's just no going against him."

"Powerful? That frozen wimp?" Dagur growls. "I could take him with both hands tied behind my back."

Pitch looks over at him and cocks his head to the side in mock curiosity, knowing that Dagur won't catch the mocking part.

"Could you?"

Dagur nods tersely. "I'll annihilate him."

A grin spreads over Pitch's face.

_"Well; this might work out even better than I'd hoped."  
_


	5. See Macbeth for further details

**Hello everyone! ^^  
**Sorry that this chapter has taken so long, it was a difficult one to write, and I only just got into the feeling of it two days ago.  
I hope you enjoy it though.  
To Delph1762, I was able to translate your review, Merci beaucoup.  
TO everyone else that has reviewed, I thank you immensely ^^ I'm glad that you guys like the story so far.  
HERE WE GO!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon or Rise Of The Guardians. Those belong to Dreamworks and all other respective owners.  
**

* * *

Nothing in his life  
Became him like the leaving it; he died  
As one that had been studied in his death,  
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,  
As 'twere a careless trifle.

-Malcolm, Act I, scene iv, Macbeth

* * *

There was a short pause in the room as Hiccup finished telling them about Dagur's powers and about the true extent of the history the two shared. North stood stolidly in the silence, as though a part of him had known all along, which Jack didn't doubt for a second. Sandy and Tooth had been staring at Hiccup in open shock and pity, and Bunny was so uncharacteristically quite that Jack felt his skin itch as the silence continued to pervade every fiber of his being. Beside him, he could feel Hiccup shifting from side to side uncomfortably and hear the low rumble that Toothless made as he nuzzled his rider's leg in an effort to calm him down. Jack felt his eyes dart down to Hiccup's hands; they lay clenched into fists at his sides and Jack had to resist the urge to lean over and relax them with his own, to loosen the clenched fingers by sliding his own in the spaces between them.

Eventually Bunny broke the silence.  
"Why didn't you tell us mate?" Bunny looked angrier with himself than Hiccup, and Jack knew that he was berating himself for not picking up on this earlier. "We wouldn't have made you go if we knew what had happened between you two."  
_"No, you didn't know. But I knew, and I made the decision to go anyway without mentioning it to you." _Hiccup thought. _"All for the sake of answers, all for the sake of anything to stop the aching loneliness, for selfish relief from my own pain—" _Hiccup cut off his internal rant with a sigh before running a hand through his hair. "That's why I didn't tell you, I thought you'd try and stop me from going." He took a deep breath. "And…and I _wanted_ to go."  
Tooth's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"  
Hiccup turned to face her. "I figured he was the last person left who might have any idea what happened to me." Unconsciously, his hand rose up to trace over his scar. "Turns out I was right."  
North stroked his beard thoughtfully, mulling over the information. "That clicks all pieces into place." He murmured.

"What pieces?" Bunny demanded. "Mind filling the rest of us in?"  
North turned to face Bunny. "That storm was building for a while before Hiccup lost control of it. It must have started brewing when Dagur told him what happened."  
Hiccup's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Hang on, what are you talking about? What storm?" There was another pause in the conversation as all eyes focused on Hiccup before sliding over to Jack.  
Bunny eyes widened incredulously. "You haven't told him?"  
Jack glared at him. "I didn't exactly have a lot of time to, thanks to _someone_." He grumbled defensively and, significantly more than slightly, resentfully.

Hiccup looked on, becoming more and more lost by the minute. "Tell me what?"

There was another moment of silence before Jack turned back to Hiccup, running a hand through his hair. "Hic—" He stopped when he noticed Hiccup flinch slightly at the nickname, caught up in the memory of the twisted version that had snaked so venomously out of Dagur's lips. That foreign burning feeling flickered back to life in his chest for a moment before he shoved it down with a slight shake of his head. "Hiccup; what's the last thing that you remember?"  
Hiccup's brow furrowed for a moment as he tried to think back, grasping valiantly for his last memory. "I…remember you blasting Dagur backwards and then..." He trailed off as the memory of finding himself safe and secure in Jack's arms overcame him for a moment, before quickly shaking it away. "And then…Dagur was about to attack you…and…" He searched back through his memories for a moment before shaking his head. "That's it. That's all I remember."

The other Guardians shared a look that had Hiccup shifting from side to side again as he began to feel _extremely_ anxious.  
"Hiccup, are you _sure_ that you don't remember anything else?" North asked.  
Hiccup shook his head. "I'm sure. Now would someone mind telling me what happened? Cause it's pretty obvious that _something_ did."  
There was another moment of infuriating silence before Tooth fluttered over to the two boys and hovered in front of Hiccup. "Well, you see Hiccup, back in the clearing when Dagur was about to attack your instincts took over and you caused a storm in order to protect yourself." Hiccup's stiffened immediately and Tooth hurried to finish her explanation. "Which normally would be an _amazing _and smart move, but since you weren't in complete control of your powers you couldn't differentiate between friend and foe." She wrung her hands worriedly. "You only stopped when Sandy put you to sleep."  
Hiccup looked up at her, dread beginning to creep its way into his veins. "So you're saying that I freaked out and caused a storm I couldn't control? And what do you mean I couldn't differentiate between friend and foe? Are you saying that I h-hurt somebody?" The image of Jack's broken body flickered in his mind's eye and he found himself stumbling over his words, struggling to steady himself.  
Jack made to move forward, but stopped when Tooth's hand rested comfortingly on Hiccup's shoulder, drawing green eyes back into amethyst ones and causing a slight twinge in the pale teen's chest. A twinge that was frighteningly similar to the burning sensation that flickered to life whenever he thought about Dagur and Hiccup—

He cut off those thoughts immediately, giving his head a rough shake as he did so, trying to work through the foreign and utterly confusing mess of emotions that clustered in his chest and fogged his brain. Tooth was like a sister and mother to him; and he owed her and Baby Tooth more than he could ever hope to repay for helping him to regain his memories. The mere thought that he was directing the same emotion at her that he felt towards Dagur was enough to make him throw up. Gritting his teeth, he brutally shoved down all thoughts on the matter to try and drag his focus back to Hiccup and Tooth's conversation.  
"Don't worry, you didn't hurt anyone." Tooth soothed Hiccup. "Remember how you told us before that you can make it rain? This is just an extension of those powers that were lying dormant until now; they only woke up because you felt threatened."  
Hiccup was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "No."  
"I understand that it might seem unbelievable—" Tooth began.  
Hiccup shook his head again. "No, I mean, I don't think my powers _just_ woke up."  
Tooth and Jack just stared at him, shocked, while North watched on silently.  
Bunny furrowed his brow. "Then why didn't you mention them earlier."

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "It just…the last time it happened was just a few days after I woke up. When Toothless and I first arrived at our home I…I had a little bit of a freak out and there was this huge storm. And then afterwards, I noticed that the weather was affected by my emotions. It happens all year round, but the it's more sensitive to my emotions during autumn. The rest of the year, it has to be a really strong emotion for any change to happen, but during autumn even the slightest feeling I have can change the weather." He looked back into Tooth's eyes, desperate for her and the rest of the Guardians to understand. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I just…I was so caught up in Dagur being alive that it didn't even cross my mind."  
"Hiccup." Tooth swept him up in a hug. "There's nothing for you to feel sorry for, it was our fault for not keeping a closer eye on you."  
Hiccup pushed away from Tooth. "No, it's my fault. I…I went into this to try and find answers and when I finally found them, I couldn't handle it." Hiccup backed up ever so slightly, guilt overcoming and wracking his being. "I've seen how brutal the storms I cause can get; and that's when I still have some vague sense of control." He placed a hand on Toothless's saddle, his imagination tormenting him with various "what if's". "I could have seriously hurt you guys." His hand clenched into a fist, whispers of deep, dark thoughts echoing through his mind. _"If I can't control these powers, then I'm better off back in the cave, where I can't hurt anybody."  
_"Geez." Jack moaned, making his way over to Hiccup. "How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself?" He swung his hand out to indicate the other Guardians. "And if _I _can take care of myself, you can bet your ass that _they_ can."  
Hiccup glared at him. "That's not the point—"

"Yes, it is. It's exactly the point. You're worried that you'll hurt us by staying here, and the truth is that yeah, we're going to have our hands full with Dagur wanting you to be his "snookum" and Pitch doing his evil shadowy shit; but _none_ of that is your fault. And your massive storm is what allowed us to get away from that deranged bastard in the first place! So if you ask me you deserve a round of high-fives, not a serving of self-loathing." Jack shrugged. "So what if you couldn't control it right away?"  
Hiccup spluttered at the statement. "So what? Jack, this is serious—"

"I_ know_, but, I mean, you're not relishing in the destruction you caused like some sort of evil overlord, right? And you feel bad about what you did even though no one was hurt. _That_ is what's important about this whole thing. We can teach you to control your powers easy, but trying to rid you of a lust for power?" Jack shook his head. "That would be a hell of a lot more difficult."  
Hiccup backed up so that he was leaning against Toothless, trying to process everything that Jack was telling him. Jack's eyes flickered and, with a flick of his wrists, he hooked his staff around Hiccup's waist and yanked the young Viking towards him. Hiccup and Toothless both gave a cry of surprise as Hiccup stumbled into Jack's waiting arms.  
"For god's sake, would you stop coming up with reasons to leave?" Jack breathed into Hiccup's ear, causing a flush to rise up in Hiccup's cheek as Jack tightened his arms around him for a moment. Jack cleared his throat to try and get rid of the words that rang so loud throughout his mind and hovered at the tip of his tongue: _"I don't want you to leave me...I don't want you to go somewhere I can't protect you. I don't want you to go somewhere _**he**_ can reach you, can _**kiss**_ you."  
_

While the words that Jack desperately searched for continued their rather irritating pastime of hovering just out of his reach, Hiccup was lost in the sound of his own heartbeat as it pumped so furiously that he was surprised it didn't explode. Being here in Jack's arms, he felt so safe and secure that he found himself holding back the urge to snuggle deeper into his cool embrace, something that he was certain Jack would reject immediately. Sure, back on Berk, friends had never hugged like he and Jack had hugged; but a lot of things had changed between now and then. After all, he _had_ been asleep for _nine hundred years_, and a lot can change in that amount of time. Jack was obviously just trying to keep Hiccup safe and comfort him, nothing more. It was stupid to hope for more, to wish that Jack's heart skipped like his did and that he felt more than just friendship towards him. He had just met this guy for Thor's sake! And who knows how Jack might react if he had the courage to tell him how he was feeling? On Berk, it hadn't really mattered who you loved, regardless of gender, as long as they loved you back. Though he would be lying if he didn't mention that parents tended to lean towards their children going for the opposite sex, in order to have children and continue the bloodline. His own father full heartedly encouraged his relationship with Astrid, and he doubted he would have been instantly ok with him getting together with another boy from the village. He was the only heir to the chief of the village after all; it was necessary that he continue his bloodline. Much as he disagreed with the way the matter had been treated on Berk, he knew that on other Viking colonies, it was worse.

On the Berserker tribe for example, people that engaged in relationships like that with one another were survivors of tribes that the Berserker's had slaughtered. They were treated as war prizes, not as Vikings, not even as humans, anymore. Just a possession to be owned, and to humiliate and degrade with the other members of the tribe; it was a fact that kept Hiccup awake at night during the war. The certainty that it would happen to him should they lose this war was never in question; the way Dagur had leered at him, eyes dark and ravenous, completely different from the way Jack's compassionate blue eyes—  
Hiccup shook all thoughts from his mind. It didn't matter. Someone as insanely attractive as Jack wouldn't like someone like him. And taking Jack's friendly affection for more than that was just going to end up biting him in the ass when he finally slipped up and did something stupid like let his feelings show; or kiss him—

Hiccup cut that thought off and tugged at Jack's arms. Odin forbid.  
"_All right_, I'm not going anywhere Jack; I _promise_, now, would you mind letting me go? I can't _breathe_."  
Jack relaxed slightly once he heard those words and let go of Hiccup, who flushed under the intense gaze of the other Guardians. Tooth and her fairies were squealing slightly in the corner, while Bunny and Sandy just exchanged smirks as North looked on knowingly. Jack, also feeling heat rise to his cheeks, coughed slightly to break the silence. "So, um, North, what's the plan now?"  
North suppressed a chuckle.  
Or rather, half suppressed. (If the hand that Tooth smothered over the spirit's mouth with a reprimanding "Shh!" counts.)

* * *

Hiccup watched as the Yetis set up an array of targets throughout the field of ice and snow that lay before him under the soft gaze of the sun. It turned out "this morning" was actually "yesterday morning". So he had actually known Jack for almost two days instead of just one.

_"Well, what do you know?" _His mind bit out sarcastically. _"That solves everything! Let the make-out sessions commence."_ Toothless's questioning growl brought him out of his bitter thoughts and he turned to meet the gaze of his best friend; whose cat-like eyes were almost looking through him, as though they had heard his thoughts. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Sorry bud just lost in my thoughts." He leaned over and scratched the dragon, smiling when Toothless's satisfied rumble reached his ears.  
"Aw, a boy and his dragon, have you ever seen anything so sweet?" Jack's teasing voice came from behind him and Hiccup turned to greet—

A huge snowball.

With his face.

Jack's cackle of laughter and Toothless snort met his ears as he wiped the remnants of the massive snowball off of his face. "Oh ha-ha, _real _mature you two."  
"Aww, come on Hiccup." Jack chuckled, hopping closer and poking Hiccup's cheek. "You know you love us."  
Hiccup shook his head and batted Jack's hand away. "Keep dreaming Frosti." But he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching into what Jack instantly recognized as a smile. Feeling his own pale lips spread into an even bigger grin, Jack missed the subtle hand motion that Hiccup made before an avalanche of snow, kicked up by Toothless's tail, slammed into him and caused him to tip forward with a yell and plummet into the snowy ground. Hiccup laughed as Jack growled, annoyance at ending up in the snow overcoming the warmth in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach caused by Hiccup's wonderful laugh.  
Hiccup smirked down at him. "That's what you get for messing with _**The**_ Dragon Trainer." Hiccup dusted off the remaining particles of snow from his arms as Toothless padded towards him, sending Jack a smirk of his own. Jack shot Toothless a glare before pushing up into the air and sending a shot of ice at the Hiccup's feet, freezing the ground and causing his feet to fly out from under him. Hiccup gave a yelp of surprise as he tumbled towards the ground, only to be tugged upwards by a pair of pale hands as Toothless gave several roars of indignation from below.

Hiccup felt invigorating cold air rush over his skin as they soared upwards, Jack having thrown Hiccup over her shoulder like a sack in order to escape having his ear torn off for carrying the Viking bridal style again; and even as he pounded against Jack's back and demanded to be put back down amidst Jack's snickers, Hiccup couldn't imagine anything more perfect than this.  
After a while of flying around, Jack finally landed a fair distance away from the Yeti's and Toothless; setting down on top of a mountain ridge that gave them a wonderful view of North's castle. Sliding Hiccup off his shoulder, Jack laughed as Hiccup sent him what he figured was supposed to be a glare, but looked more like a pout.  
Hiccup ceased his pout-glare and turned away before rolling his eyes. "I hope you plan to have me back in time for my training, Mr. Kidnapper."  
Jack did a mock bow. "Oh I wouldn't _dream_ of making you late, Sir Dragon Trainer."  
He straightened up and leaned on his staff, shooting Hiccup a smug grin. "That is, if you can meet my ransom demands."  
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that, generally speaking, the person that you've kidnapped is in any position to meet _ransom _demands."  
Jack shrugged. "Generally speaking, yeah." He winked at Hiccup. "But you're a special case."  
Hiccup stared at him for a moment, cheeks flushing, before clearing his throat and crossing his arms. "Fine; what are your demands, Mr. Kidnapper?" He tapped his foot, feigning impatience. "Come on, I haven't got all day here."  
Jack walked a circle around Hiccup, passing his stick between hands as he did so. "It's more of a trade off than a demand actually." Jack told him carefully, measuring his next words carefully. Hiccup felt his breath catch in his throat at the change in Jack's tone, and he knew that he probably wasn't going to like what came next.  
"You said that Dagur told you about what happened when you died, right?" Jack asked precariously.  
Hiccup took a deep breath before nodding, trying to keep his emotions from spilling over into the air around them. "Yeah, he did."  
Jack nodded and took a deep breath of his own before continuing. "I was thinking, maybe you could tell me about your past and I'll tell you about mine?"

Hiccup took in another audible breath and Jack hurriedly continued talking. "It's just, I've talked over what happened to me with Tooth a couple times, and I found that it really helps, so I was thinking that it might help you." He looked away and mumbled his next words just barely loud enough for Hiccup to hear them. "Plus, I…I want to know everything I can about what happened between you and Dagur; that way I can protect you better." Though it was part of the truth, it was made part of a lie by the unspoken words that lingered on the tip of Jack's tongue._ "I want to know more about you than _**he**_ does; more than _**anyone**_ does." _Jack mentally berated himself for even thinking that way, for wanting to bring up painful memories just so that he could learn more about the Viking. He cursed under his breath as the silence grew around them, only broken by the soft moan of the wind across the tundra, sure that he had ruined his budding friendship with Hiccup, let alone a chance at something more._  
_Hiccup looked at Jack's slightly slouched form as the frost spirit tried his best to avoid any contact at all with Hiccup. Hiccup smiled softly at his shyness before letting out a sigh, giving in to his own desire to know more about the pale teen before him. "Well, I suppose that's fair, Mr. Kidnapper." Jack spun around, eyes lighting up with an exponential amount of relief. "But you have to go first." Hiccup told him firmly.

Jack scratched his head and shot Hiccup a disgruntled look. "Hey, I thought I was the one making the demands here." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him and Jack grumbled a: "Fine." under his breath.  
"Where to start…Ok, so, when I was alive, I lived in that town we went to last night, Burgess, with my parents and sister. And according to the memories that my tooth box showed me, I was just as awesome a guy as I am now." He grinned at Hiccup, who just rolled his eyes and gestured for Jack to continue talking. Jack's face briefly flickered into a smile before fading away as he looked away from Hiccup and into his past. "Then one day, I must have thought it would be a good idea to promise my sister that I'd take her ice skating on the frozen pond near our village." He gazed at the vacuous tundra before him, his eyes watching something that Hiccup couldn't.  
"We had just gotten on the ice, and I was goofing off while she skated ahead of me. I had taken my shoes off and stepped onto the ice with my bare feet, just to see how it felt, and then when I had reached a fair ways in, I went to put on my skates. But then I heard my sister cry out." Jack swallowed before continuing. "I looked up and she was standing there, cracks in the ice extending from all around her. I-I couldn't breathe for a moment, I felt like I was frozen, and then she told me that she was scared." Jack chuckled humorlessly as Hiccup looked on with sympathy and pity covering his features. "You know, it's kind of funny, when my tooth box showed me my memories, everything else in my life just kind of passed me by, like I was watching a re-run, except for that one day. I can't get any kind of feeling from my memories; I see myself laughing with my sister and her friends, and I can hear my mom's voice, but I don't feel any attachment to any of them." He snorted. "Hell, I can't even remember their names" He brought a pale hand over his heart. "But on that day, I can feel my worry and love for my sister, and I can feel this need to keep her safe, even if it means sacrificing my own safety to do so." He heard Hiccup's breath hitch, and he knew that Hiccup had guessed correctly where this was going.  
"So I told her that it was going to be fine, that she was going to be alright, and that we were going to play hopscotch, like we did everyday. I guess it was her favorite game, or our favorite game, I'm not sure which. And then I hopped towards her with this," He twirled the staff around in his hands, "And hooked it around her before sending her flying towards the edge of the lake and sending myself flying over to where she had been."

"We had this moment, where we both looked at each other and smiled, because everything was ok and we were both safe and I felt so relieved that I couldn't stop myself from smiling and forgetting where I was. And the next thing I knew, the ice was cracking and I was falling backwards into freezing water." His grip on his staff tightened ever so slightly. "The last thing I heard was her calling out my name."

There was silence between them before Hiccup cleared his throat. "I'm sorry." And he was and more; just the image of Jack drowning underneath the icy surface of a pond stilled his beating heart and tore the breath from his lungs, like he was drowning.  
Jack turned to him and smiled. "Thanks."  
He leaned on his staff and gazed back out over the tundra. "You know, for a long time, I hated the man in the moon, for not giving me a reason for my existence. And after I knew who I was and what had happened, I couldn't understand why I didn't feel anything towards my mother, my sister, or any of the other villagers in my memories." Jack gave another humorless chuckle. "I hated him for that too."

"And then when I was talking it over with Tooth for like the thousandth time, I realized something. If I had known about my family right after I had woken up in my village, if I had felt for them what I had when I was alive, would it have been worse than living without any purpose for three hundred years? To have to watch them grow old and die while I stayed young forever?" He shook his head. "When I think about it like that, I think I prefer the way that things ended up." He nodded towards the sky. "It made me realize that old Manny up there has more of an idea what he's doing than we give him credit for." He turned to face Hiccup again and tapped the Viking on his head with his staff. "So that means he must have know what he was doing when he made you a Guardian, right?" He leaned forward and pinched Hiccup's nose, causing the Viking to let out a noise of indignation and surprise before batting Jack's hand away. Jack laughed and went back to leaning on his staff. "Alright, I told you my story, now let's hear yours."  
Hiccup looked down at his twiddling thumbs.

"There's not much to tell. I still don't remember anything, so all I have to go on is what Dagur told me, and that's not a Hel of a lot."  
"That's okay, just tell me what Dagur said." Jack told him quickly, curiosity over coming him.  
Hiccup glanced up at him for a moment, searching his blue eyes, before sighing and letting his shoulders slump.  
"He…he told me that we had battled against each other the day I died, just like my father planned. And then he said while we were fighting he had grabbed Astrid off the back her dragon and then—"  
"Whoa, wait a minute." Jack cut through Hiccup's story. "Astrid?"  
"She was one of my friends." Hiccup told him. "She was the one who convinced me to go after Toothless and helped me beat the Red Death."  
Jack grinned. "And you saved her? That explains why Manny chose you." He tilted head to side, grin growing wider. "You're a Guardian Hiccup."  
Hiccup rolled his eyes at the statement but couldn't help feeling contented by Jack's words, even though they were obviously just lies to soothe his ego.

"Was she just a friend?" Jack couldn't stop himself from asking.  
Hiccup looks slightly startled and a little embarrassed that Jack asked.  
"Well, we used to be together, but I broke it off with her a while before the battle happened."  
"Why?" Jack needed to know.  
Hiccup was looked past Jack onto the open tundra and shrugged. "I just…didn't love her anymore, you know? At least not the way she wanted me to."  
"Oh." Jack said, furiously trying to hide his relief. "I'm sorry; keep going."  
Hiccup's eyes flicked back to him for a moment more he continued talking.  
"So, as I was saying, he told me that he had grabbed Astrid, but I had swooped in and saved her." Hiccup's hand rose to trace over the scar on his chest once again. "And then, like the true _gentlemen_ he is, he skipped all other formalities and got right to how I died."  
Jack made his way over to Hiccup and place a hand over the one tracing the scar.

"I meant to ask you earlier, why do you always do that whenever you talk about your past?" Jack asked softly, fingers curling around Hiccup's hand and holding it gently. Hiccup flicked his eyes up to meet Jack's caring blue eyes, before he averted his gaze from their intense one and swallowed. "Well, after I woke, I realized that I had a new scar, about three inches wide, right here." He took a deep breath. "And yesterday Dagur told me that he was the one who gave it to me, with the same dagger that he has now. And—" He choked out his next few words unsteadily. "H-He told me that the b-blood, on the cloth of the h-hilt, is mine."  
Jack's grip on Hiccup's hand tightened as the image of the completely blood red cloth entered his mind, along with another image of the dagger it was on sticking out of Hiccup's chest right where his hand lay; dulling Hiccup's beautiful eyes and pulling him far away from Jack's reach.

Hiccup hurried to push out the rest of the story, so that he could calm Jack's death grip on his fingers. He needed those. "And then he told me that I…succumbed to blood loss and was unable to prevent us all from slamming into the cliff wall." He gave a wince of pain when the grip tightened even more. "Jack, can you let go of my hand, that hurts."  
Jack dropped Hiccup's hand like it had burnt him, just standing and staring at his own hand. Hiccup cautiously stepped closer to Jack, so that they were mere millimeters from one another. "Jack?" He asked softly, green eyes trying to make contact with those wonderful blue ones.

Jack shifted his gaze from his hands to Hiccup eyes, allowing Hiccup to see the burning hate and frustration that lay within. For a moment they simply stared at one another, before something in Jack seemed to visibly crack and break, and he wrapped his arms around the Viking, drawing him into a hug. Burying his nose in Hiccup's neck, he breathed in and out several times in an attempt to quell the rage that bubbled through his veins. The image of the dagger sticking out of Hiccup's chest as blood began to stain his clothes and body tortured his mind and made him clutch the back of Hiccup's hoody so tight that his knuckles turned white.  
Hiccup was still for a moment, before wrapping his arms around Jack and returning the hug, relishing the cold chill that danced across his skin from Jack's body as he did so. He ran his fingers down the material of the blue hoody in a soothing motion, trying to calm the ragged breathing against his neck that sent chills down his spine. "Jack," He murmured gently. "It's ok. I'm ok now."  
Jack nodded against his neck. "I know." His hands shook against Hiccup's back as snow began to drift down around them. "It doesn't make me any less angry."

Hiccup said nothing, just kept rubbing Jack's back amidst the soft tingling sensation of snow landing on his bare skin; until curiosity got the better of him.  
"Why are you so angry?" Hiccup asked quietly.  
Jack didn't say anything for a moment, and Hiccup was terrified that he'd ruined everything with those five words.  
But then he felt Jack's lips part against his neck and he breathed a sigh of relief as his voice tumbled into his ear. "Because I care about you a lot, you stupid Dragon Trainer."  
Hiccup bit back a remark about who was the stupid one here and went with his next question instead.  
"As a friend?" He asked, hoping against hope that it wasn't.  
Jack was silent for a moment more before giving Hiccup one last squeeze and pulling away. "No; as a _best_ friend you idiot." He shot Hiccup a smile before turned back to look at the Yeti's, who were hollering and beckoning them over. "Ah, looks like our time is up good sir; would you allow me to escort you back?" Jack gave another mock bow and Hiccup used the moment to force a look of utter disinterest on his face despite the painful twinge rippling through his heart. "About time." He muttered before stepping towards Jack and allowing himself to be treated like a sack yet again. At least the sensation of cold air dancing across his skin distracted him from the awful cracking sound that his heart was making.

* * *

Toothless watched from his position a few meters from where the targets had been set up as Hiccup attempted to gain better control of his powers. So far his rider had been able to summon a fierce wind that nearly blew everyone surrounding him away (Except for Jack, who had just rode the wind with a laugh), and he had managed to make it rain upon the tundra. (Something Toothless wasn't too pleased about because, really, couldn't he have managed to leave the area he was resting in dry?)  
That just left the reason that the targets had been set up.

Lightning.

Toothless watched as Hiccup stared at North, shock registering on his features.  
"You want me to actually call down Thor's wrath?" His rider stated, utterly appalled at the idea and more than significantly terrified. "On _purpose_?" His fear made Toothless uneasy and restless, and he kept his eyes and ears flicked towards the scene before him, hackles raised as he prepared to attack if need be.

"I know it sound scary, but it only way we can help you to control powers." North told him gently. Jack had come up behind Hiccup and was resting a hand on his shoulder, something that Toothless quietly commended him for. Though he was still deciding whether or not the pale teen was good or bad for his rider. He seemed to genuinely care about him, but his foolishness had gotten his rider hurt and almost captured; something Toothless wasn't going to forget any time soon. But Hiccup…he seemed happier around Jack, more like his usual self again; of course he wasn't _exactly_ the same, but he _was_ better and that was all Toothless could ever hope for.  
And Toothless was no fool; he could also see the lingering affection that lay within his rider's green eyes whenever they met blue ones. But knew his rider, having been born with the misfortune of being human and not dragon, couldn't tell whether the affection he saw in those blue eyes was simply his own reflected back at him. And so in this way, though Toothless knew that he would never do it on purpose, Jack _hurt_ his rider. But his instincts told him it was a good kind of hurt. Not to say that it wasn't heart wrenchingly painful and utterly devastating and Toothless wished fervently that his rider could be without it; but it was the kind of pain that leads to something, whether that would be a dissolution of the solitary soul or the joining of two hearts, only time would tell.

Focusing back on the scene before him, he noticed that the others had managed to convince Hiccup to try and call forth the lightning. He watched as Hiccup extended his arms and raised his eyes towards the sky, searching deep inside his being for the raging bonfire of power that had allowed him to summon the wind and rain; the connection to nature that lay dormant within him, waiting for him to take his part in the bond the two shared. Toothless held his breath for a moment with the others while they waited anxiously for the sky to darken and the lightning to leap forth.

But nothing happened.

Hiccup let his arms fall from his sides and turned around to face the others, confusion evident. "Maybe it's like a last defense mechanism? It only happens when I'm in real danger or when I'm really upset?" He suggested, a mix of disappointment and relief obvious on his face and in his voice.  
North stroked his beard thoughtfully before shaking his head.  
"You should be able to summon it like wind and rain."  
There was silence for a moment before Jack spoke.  
"Maybe it has something to do with his center?"  
"Center?" His rider asked, utterly confused.  
Jack looked at him in shock for a moment before turning to North. "You didn't give him the whole, "What is _your_ **center**?" speech?"

North shrugged. "Managing to get him on his own for speech has proven rather difficult for some reason." He winked at Jack and the pale teen stiffened and abruptly turned away, sufficiently silenced.  
"Another, Guardian thing, huh? Why am I not surprised." Hiccup rolled his eyes and Toothless snorted. These Guardians needed to work on their recruitment program.  
North turned back to Hiccup, clasping his hands together as he did so. "Well, never mind, no time like present. So Hiccup, center is…"

Toothless drowned out the rest of the conversation, his attention caught by the particles of ice kicked up by the wind dancing over the tundra and the red-hat wearing elves as they engaged in a snowball fight together. He gave a low growl when they came too close for comfort, frightening the elves to death and sending them scrambling away from the dragon. He gave a snort and turned, full of self-satisfaction, his attention back to his rider, who was nodding and processing the information that North had given him.

Hiccup shifted his gaze toward Jack. "So, what's your center?" He asked curiously.  
Jack gave a grin. "Isn't it obvious." He dug his stick into the ground and flipped upwards to perch on top of it with a flourish. "I'm the Guardian of Fun."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Fun, huh? That's a surprise, I was _so_ sure that you were the Guardian of Immaturity." He smirked. "But I guess you take the cake on that matter anyway."  
Jack hopped down and tackled Hiccup to the ground. "Uh oh, I think someone needs a huge does of fun, stat!" He waggled his fingers evilly as Hiccup squirmed underneath him. "Good thing the Guardian of Fun is here to save the day!" And with that his hands descended on Hiccup and he began to tickle him.  
Hiccup let out several squeaks and very un-Viking-like shrieks of laughter as he tried to fight off Jack's unrelenting hands. Toothless, who had jumped up as soon as Jack had pounced on Hiccup, settled down at the sound of Hiccup's laughter and returned back to his spot, breathing another circle of plasma in order to warm it up again.  
Eventually, when both boys were breathless, North cleared his throat, reminding them what they were for. Jack leaped up off of Hiccup and extended a hand down towards him. Hiccup smiled and reached for the hand, allowing himself to be pulled back up to his feet. And if Jack held his hand for a moment longer than needed, well, neither one of them thought _too_ much about it.

"So, Hiccup, why don't you try and focus your thoughts, look for what makes you tick, and maybe that will allow you to control lightning." North suggested. Hiccup looked at him before nodding and turning back towards the target. Raising his arms and eyes towards the sky once again, he attempted to focus his thoughts and find what "made him tick" as North put it.

After about three minutes of nothing, he let his hands fall to his sides again.

Discouraged, he turned to face Jack and North, who were both deep in thought.  
"Ok, so that obviously didn't work." The pale teen muttered under his breath as Toothless rolled his eyes at the statement. Then Jack's head jerked up and he snapped his fingers. "I've got it! What if you focus on what you were feeling before you lost control of the storm and try to summon it through that?"  
Hiccup frowned. "But what if I end up losing control again?"  
"Sandy is just holler away, we call him if we lose you." North assured him.  
Hiccup still looked unsure, but curiosity to see if he could really do it overcame the fear tinting his thoughts and made him turn back to the targets.

Raising his arms and eyes yet again, he let his eyes fall closed as he searched for the feeling that had led to the storm erupting around them. The need to protect Jack, to make sure that he didn't end up like the limp corpse that tormented Hiccup's mind.

The overwhelmingly suffocating need…to not be alone anymore.

His eyes shot open as he felt the connection between him and nature burst to life, the sky around him darkening as thunder rumbled overhead. He felt the power hum beneath his skin and through his veins, as though he was nothing but lightning itself, contained and suppressed in a container of flesh.

It was electrifying.

Flicking his eyes towards the targets before him, he felt the power ripple through his body as he raised his hand towards the nearest target and let the energy escape through his fingers like it did when he painted the leaves.  
A magnificent lightning bolt leapt from the sky and struck the target, disintegrating it. As Hiccup watched the charred particles float away before disappearing from sight, he felt a gratifying rush of pleasure and thrill pass through his body. Not at the destruction, but at something else, perhaps the way that he had invoked such a massive change in the object before him. Reducing something so solid to nothing but particles in the breeze.

The destruction sparked panic throughout his being and he felt himself staring at his hands in shock. How could he appreciate something so destructive?

But then, a voice reasoned from within him, wasn't it always the way with change?

It brings destruction of one thing, in order to create something else entirely.

For better or worse.

He looked towards the other targets, suddenly overcome with the desire to change those to, to turn them to nothing more than particles drifting on the wind.

He raised his hand again and pointed towards another target, allowing the energy within him to bubble up before releasing it and watching with satisfaction as more particles danced away in the wind.  
With a grin, he turned to aim at another target, only to feel something grab his wrist.  
He looked up into blue eyes, concern and worry reflected back at him.

"Hiccup." The blue eyes said. "Don't you think that's enough for one day? I mean, you don't want to tire yourself out too much, right?"  
He frowned in confusion at the blue eyes. Hiccup?

He wasn't Hiccup.

He was change, and everything that came with it. He was destruction and creation, constant, ever changing, and never ending; like the ocean that lulled so gently against a rocky shore, only to smash into it the next day, foam spraying high and waves punishing the rocks.  
The grip on his wrists tightened slightly and he felt pain. And that was strange, because pain wasn't a thing that he felt. He was relief from pain, and he was the bringer of pain, but he was never pain itself.  
"Hiccup." The blue eyes said again, pleading with him now, and they looked like they were going through a pain far worse than the one that pulled at his wrist.

Hiccup.

That…

He heard the name, repeated by so many different voices, in so many different tones ringing through his ear and echoing deep into his being, like a thousand hands reaching for something that had fallen through the chasm of his consciousness; drowning in a lake of a sorrow and pain and fear and pure, unadulterated, _loneliness._  
He found himself joining in the search too, reaching for thing that struggled for air beneath the inky black surface.  
A hand rose out of the depths and reached for his, stretching for a moment before going limp and falling back towards the blackness.  
He propelled himself forwards and grabbed the hand, pulling the thing towards him. He looked into green eyes as green eyes looked into him and…it was strange because he hadn't known that he was broken…but…

He felt whole again.

With a start, Hiccup came back to himself, feeling the energy still humming beneath his skin, and looked into Jack's concerned blue eyes. Jack released his grip on Hiccup's wrist slightly when he saw the normal light return to Hiccup's eyes.  
With a nod and smile at Jack, Hiccup cut off the connection, swaying on his feet slightly as the absence of energy made his knees week. Jack raised a hand to Hiccup's back to steady him, removing it when Hiccup shot him a grateful smile and straightened up, holding himself up by his own strength.

"I'm fine." He told him, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder before squeezing once and letting it fall back to his side.  
Jack let a grin spread across his face before giving a whoop of glee and crushing Hiccup to his chest, yelling his congratulations right in Hiccup's ear and nearly deafening him. Hiccup winced at the volume before giving into a smile of his own, perfectly content for the first time in a long while.

* * *

In the end, they had two uninterrupted weeks together.  
Hiccup learned to control his powers more and more every day as Jack watched, hovering on the edges of his peripheral vision just in case he was needed. It brought a sense of comfort and familiarity to Hiccup that he knew he shouldn't be encouraging, but couldn't seem to stop from blossoming within him. After he was done his training, Jack and him would wander away with Toothless and go flying together, or they would just sit and talk together, and by the end of the first week, Hiccup felt like he had known Jack for most of his life, and Jack the same. They talked about everything and nothing, and anything in-between, from their favorite colours to their darkest memories. Hiccup taught Jack how to be a model Viking and Jack taught Hiccup everything about being a Guardian. One of the two was obviously more important than the other but when Jack laughed and pretended to be a scary Viking, Hiccup found himself forgetting which one it was.

And so the two of them fell for the other like a fire ignites, sparks leaping among the kindling before erupting into a roaring fire. A fire neither would admit to, and one that they both knew would soon or later burn down the carefully constructed walls that they had locked it behind.

For the two of them, being with the other became as normal as breathing; and even though there was the lingering aching pain that came with hiding their true feelings from each other, they found it better to sit through the pain together than sit through it alone.

Because, even with the pain, they found that they were happiest when they were together.

And then came the end of the second week, when everything promptly went to hell.

It all started when Hiccup was broken out his slumber by a loud knocking at his door. Throwing his covers back, he stumbled out of bed and towards the door; yawning and pulling at the nightshirt that North had given him. Toothless growled resentfully at the intrusion into his dreams and snuggled further into himself. Hiccup fumbled for the doorknob, eventually grasping it and pulling the door open with another yawn and a grumbled: "Jack it's way too early for this…"

Jack leaned through the door, fully dressed, and yanked Hiccup by the front of his shirt out into the hall, trailing the now fully awake and yelping Viking behind him as Toothless burst out into the hall with a roar of surprise and bounded after the two.  
"What the Hel Jack?!" Hiccup hollered as he struggled in Jack's grip. "What are you doing?"  
Jack kept his eyes straight ahead as he continued flying through the hall, jaw clenched. "The lights are going out."  
Hiccup stilled instantly. Jack has told him about the lights, and what it meant it they went out.

They reached the hall soon after, where the others were gathered, and Hiccup walked away from Jack's grip to inspect the globe before him.

The once bright globe was now only half lit, and sporadically at that.

"Dagur." Hiccup breathed, eyes flickering from one remaining light to the next and his heart dropping into his stomach.  
"And Pitch." Bunny muttered. "Seems they've been busy."  
Hiccup turned to look at him. "How did this happen?" He gestured wildly to the globe behind him. "How could they make so many kids lose their belief so fast?"  
Tooth shook her head, wings fluttering slower than normal. "We don't know."  
A dark cackle drew their attention back to the globe; black dust had begun to dance across it, twisting and turning in snake-like motions. Jack moved forward quickly, positioning himself so that Hiccup was behind his right shoulder, staff raised threateningly. As though it had been waiting for him to move, the dust began to congregate, forming a small black mass that twisted and turned until it formed inky spidery writing.

_We are waiting Guardians; look for us in the same place you left us._

The message stayed for only a few moments before the dust dispersed, leaving the Guardians staring at the empty place it had been.  
Jack lowered his stick, but made sure to stay in front of Hiccup, just in case it was a ploy by Pitch to get them off of their guard. Hiccup swallowed, taking in a deep breath as he continued to stare at the place the message had been. "What do we do now?"  
Bunny tossed on of his boomerangs up in the air before catching it, thought with significantly less ease than usual. "We pay 'em a visit."  
Hiccup turned back to him, incredulous. "Oh, sorry, was it just me that noticed this practically _screams_ trap?"  
North shook his head. "Does not matter. Children are in danger, and we are Guardians. We must protect children of the world, even if it means putting ourselves in danger."

Hiccup glanced around at their serious faces and felt his stomach plummet. For a brief moment, the bodies he found himself staring at were nothing but that, cold and empty puppets dancing to the tune that Mani played; their eyes dull orbs of color that stared into the void as life went on around them, their own life leaking from their bodies in rivers of red, running down their figures to fall to the stones below.  
Jack put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped at the contact, brought back to reality with a crash, accompanied by a rapid blinking of his eyes.

"Hiccup?" Jack asked quietly.  
Hiccup took a breath to steady himself, refusing to make eye contact with Jack, for fear that the smallest of glances would bring visions of dull blue eyes and blood-stained daggers.

* * *

Jack, Hiccup, and Toothless flew behind the sleigh, Hiccup in his borrowed clothes from North, having darted back to throw them on before they set off. He tried to ignore the taunting, Dagur-like voice in the back of his mind that told him Jack was holding on to him with less strength than he had the last time they went flying together.  
Jack had told him that when the lights went out, it meant that everything that you protected as a Guardian was being threatened, as children stopped believing in your existence. Jack hadn't gone into detail about what happened to _you_ when that happened, but Hiccup had a pretty good idea of it all the same.

It made him sick just thinking about it.

He watched as North tossed the snow globe ahead; he saw the array of colours, but the portal itself was blocked by North's sleigh, preventing him from seeing just what they were flying into. He closed his eyes as they passed through the portal, the usual twisting sensation only adding to his nausea. He felt a cold presence on his hand and felt his heart beat calm slightly as Jack gave his hand a light squeeze. As they came out of the portal, he turned to face Jack—

Only for Toothless to swerve sharply to the side to avoid the blast of heat that singed the edges of Hiccup's hair.

"Whoa!" Hiccup cried out in shock as he tightened his grip on the saddle. Jack withdrew his hand from Hiccup's and leapt off, shooting into the air and riding the wind to see where the blast had come from.

"Jack, wait!" He called after him, even as the pit in his stomach told him it was useless. He looked up ahead to see what had happened to the others. North and the others battled with dark sand that snaked and twisted the same way that the sand that appeared on the globe had. Further ahead was a platform of black sand that seemed to have a figure of some sort standing on it. He tried to get closer to the sand to get a good glimpse of whoever it was, only managing to nearly get himself thrown off Toothless by a wayward attack that Toothless only just managed to deflect with his plasma blast.

Hiccup cursed as a wall of sand rose up to seal them off from the others. Hearing a snarl and a cry of surprise from Jack, he turned Toothless away from the wall, he headed back in the direction that Jack had sped off in; eyes darting around as he tried to locate any trace of him.

"Hiccup!" He heard Jack cry out and turned towards his direction, relieved to see the frost spirit was all right, but he frowned when he noticed the frantic motions that he was making. He leaned forward to urge Toothless towards him, but stopped when the feeling of cold steel met his throat.

A hand snaked around the waist of his frozen form as he struggled to remember how to function for a moment. Heat radiated against his back, so intense that he thought he would be set ablaze. Equally hot breath breathed down his neck, causing the skin there to sting painfully.

"Hello again Hic." Dagur breathed into his ear. "Nice to see you again."  
"Nice to see you too Dagur." Hiccup replied dryly. "How _did_ you know that I missed having a sword pressed against my throat?" As he spoke, he reached down inside himself for the connection, ready to snap it into place.  
"Hiccup!" Jack cried out, drawing closer to them.

Hiccup was jerked away from the connection as he noticed the frost spirit, eyes widening in horror and heartbeat growing loud in his eyes as he got within dagger throwing range.  
"Stay back!" Dagur hollered at him, nearly rendering Hiccup deaf as he tightened his grip against the sword and pressed it closer to Hiccup's throat. Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and reached down for the connection again, struggling to remain calm and regain the ground that he had lost.  
Jack skidded to a halt immediately, eyes widening in horror and anger. He tightened his grip on his staff and raised it at Dagur threateningly, not moving any closer but standing his ground all the same.

"Let. Him. Go." Jack growled, blue eyes dark and icy.  
Hiccup felt his hair move as Dagur tilted his head to the side and smirked. "Why should I?" He moved his face further over Hiccup's shoulder and drew the other Viking closer to him by tightening his grip on his waist. "After all, he is _**mine**_. And I have waited far too long to collect." As Dagur finished talking, the connection finally snapped into place within Hiccup and he felt the exhilarating energy begin to hum through his veins.

Jack's eyes darkened even further and his grip on his staff tightened, the burning foreign feeling raging through his chest, threatening to tear apart his very being. Before him, all he could see was Dagur holding Hiccup like he had nearly twelve hundred and thirteen years ago; the blood-stained hilt of that damned dagger jutting out just above his heart as that ugly shade of red began to taint him in a way that couldn't be cleansed. He blinked away the revenant image that was pasted so gruesomely over the already heart-wrenching one before him, and with a low growl he spat his next words. "He isn't an object. And he isn't _yours_."

Dagur's eyes narrowed dangerously, but just as he opened his mouth to reply Hiccup spread his arms wide and released a burst of wind that blew Dagur clean off of him. Using the time that he had, he and Toothless flew over to Jack, who rushed forward and met Hiccup halfway; raising a hand to ghost gently over his throat, inspecting it carefully for any marks.  
"Are you all right?" Jack asked, eyes searching Hiccup for any vestige of damage.  
Hiccup nodded, slightly dizzy from the huge release of energy.

"Oh, Hic, I thought you were smarter than that." Dagur's voice grated through Jack's  
ears and he wished to the moon that it would just disappear from their lives forever. Dagur straightened, riding on a cloud of heat that shimmered in the cold autumn air. "If you had just submitted to me like you were supposed to, it wouldn't have to be like this." He grinned, razor-like teeth horrifyingly white in the over-cast daylight. "Though I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to enjoy annihilating Jack over there." He raised a hand and sent a wave of heat towards the two, sending Jack flying backwards and causing Toothless to flap rapidly to regain his balance in the air.

Jack regained his own balance and sent Dagur a smirk. "I'd like to see you try."  
He raised his staff and sent several energy bolts of ice at Dagur, who cut through and melted them with his several slashes from his sword. Hiccup raised his hands towards the sky, enthralled by the energy gathering in his being as lightning began to form in the clouds above. He brought both hands down and pointed to Dagur, smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth at his Dagur's confused look. He doesn't have to wait long; soon two streams of forked lightning crack through the air and strike Dagur, inciting a holler of pain.  
"Toothless, Plasma Blast!" Hiccup cried above the howl of Dagur's screams, and Toothless released the blast with relish, hitting Dagur dead-on.

Hiccup watched as Dagur fell to his knees, heart leaping at the idea that they might have managed to beat him already, but common sense reminding him that it was rarely that easy, especially when Dagur was involved. From the corner of his eye he could see Jack, still in his fighting stance, also watching Dagur carefully. So he wasn't that surprised, only terribly dismayed, when after a moment Dagur chuckled and straightened up again, albeit slowly and painfully.

"Well, Hic, I gotta say, that was pretty impressive." He grinned, and Hiccup felt his jaw clench. Dagur chuckled. "I never knew you liked playing so rough." He let out a series of odd chuckles and winked at Hiccup as nausea rose up in the dragon rider's throat. Jack positively glowered at Dagur, rage encompassing his very being. Dagur met Jack's infuriated gaze with one of his smug grins, shifting his attention and poisonous tongue towards Jack. "I guess I have you to thank for taking care such good care of him Jack." Dagur said, not breaking eye contact with Jack as he walked through the air towards Hiccup, the shimmering cloud of heat moving with him as he went. "But, you see, Hic here _**is**_ mine, has been since he was seven." He took the dagger out from his belt and pretended to inspect it before kissing the flat part of the blade, flicking his eyes towards Hiccup's as he did so. Jack's rage only increased at the sight of the shudder that ran through Hiccup's body as the dragon rider swallowed but didn't let his gaze and determination waver. Dagur grinned at the sight before flicking his eyes back to Jack and removing his lips from the blade, pretending to inspect it again. "His blood was the first human blood that this dagger took; isn't that interesting? Gives us a kind of _special_ connection, don't you think?" He licked his lips hungrily. "I wonder if his blood tastes the same no matter where you take it from; what do you think, Jack?"

"SHUT UP!" Jack gave a cry of rage and sent a barrage of energy bolts at Dagur, who only managed to cut back a few before he was overcome and sent flying backwards by the force of the blasts. Hiccup glanced at him, Jack's harsh breathing and explosion of anger worrying him as Dagur's words from the clearing came unbidden to his mind.

_"It's a real fun power, I can make people feel irritated just by staring at them, and I can make people feel __**burning**__ anger and hatred when I __stab__ them with my dagger."  
_

Jack was obviously being affected by Dagur's abilities, his control rapidly diminishing as he gave in to the anger that Dagur's powers were pumping through his veins. As snow began to fall around them and the wind picked up, Hiccup clenched his hands in fists. If they were going to get out of this unscathed, it probably would be best to finish this quickly before Dagur's power stole the last vestiges of Jack's control.

But as Hiccup raised his arms back up to the sky to call down another bolt of lightning, Dagur leapt to his feet and darted forward so fast that he was a mere blur to Hiccup's eyes. Before Hiccup could even twitch, Dagur was in front of Jack, dagger slashing through Jack's blue hoody before the frost spirit sent him tumbling backwards again with another blast of ice accompanied with a cry of pain. For a second, Hiccup was frozen in horror, mind refusing to comprehend the situation, his hand extended outwards towards Jack and his mouth open in a silent scream of the frost spirit's name.

And then Jack dropped a few feet in the air, and Hiccup snapped back to his senses instantly. Nudging Toothless with his feet, he dove down towards Jack, pulling the injured teen onto the back of the dragon.  
"Jack!" He cried as said teen groaned and winced in pain, Hiccup gingerly laid a hand on Jack's chest; inspecting the extent of the cut. But Jack pushed Hiccup away and straightened up slightly, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. "I'm fine." He managed to pant out harshly, talking through the stinging aftermath of the explosion of pain that had ripped through his chest. Hiccup brought his hands back and looked down at them to see them stained with that sickeningly familiar and absolutely disgusting red hue.  
"You're bleeding." He mumbled, shock numbing his mind.  
Jack nodded painfully and grimaced. "Yeah, kinda noticed that."

What Hiccup noticed was droplets of red running down his wrist and hitting the saddle below, staining that red too, his hands beginning to shake. He felt like he couldn't breathe, suffocating despite having such an ample supply of air all around him. The shaking spread to the rest of his body, causing his breath to come in uneven, broken gasps as the sky darkened around them, his own control rapidly slipping from him.

Jack, who had raised his own hands to his chest in order to examine the red that stained the blue of his hoody and now his pale fingers as well, noticed Hiccup's rapid breathing and the ever darkening sky. Turning to face Hiccup, he pulled the shaking boy into his embrace, running his hand down his back to try and calm his down, staining the green of the Viking's shirt that awful red as well.  
"Hey Hiccup, look I'm fine, it's just a scratch. Just…just calm down, deep breaths." Hiccup tightened his grip on Jack as he attempted to remedy his breathing and Jack glanced over Hiccup's shoulder at Dagur. Hate immediately drowned his concern for Hiccup as he stared into the smug bastard's face.

As Jack looked deep into his ugly green eyes, that were absolutely nothing like Hiccup's beautiful ones, malice and fury bubbled within him; creating a fatal cocktail that some part of him quietly begged him to throw away. Begged him to let the concoction fall to the floor and smash in a shower of gleaming glass and shining liquid, far away from his pale lips. But the majority of his mind was too busy flashing images before him to give that tiny voice a chance. Images of that sword at Hiccup's neck, of Hiccup crying in that clearing, of Hiccup being ruined by disgusting red, of Dagur's lips crashing over Hiccup's as the Hiccup leant back and opened his mouth to let Dagur slip in his tongue and explore further, giving a soft moan as he did so, wrapping an arm around Dagur's neck to push him further into his mouth and _**God**_ his chest is _**burning**_ and hurting and he wants to _**tear**_ their mouths _**away **_from each other, and then _**tear **_Dagur _**apart**_, and then push his mouth over Hiccup's and _**erase **_the very suggestion that Dagur was even there, cover up Dagur's disgusting mark and taste with his own, but only after he's done dealing with Dagur, because no one touches _**his**_ Hiccup like that and get's away with it, no one will _**ever**_ take what is _**rightfully**_—

"**JACK**!" Hiccup yelled and, as Jack came back to himself with a start, he realized that Hiccup must have been calling his name for a while. He blinked; he was surprisingly close to Hiccup's wonderful green eyes, his cold breath ghosting across Hiccup's cheek. From his close vantage point, he could see that Hiccup was clearly distraught, clutching Jack's hoody so tightly that his knuckles have probably turned white, traces of tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. Jack blinked rapidly, trying to think through the fog that has gathered within his mind. Hiccup noticed his actions and sagged with relief. "Thank the Gods." He breathed, tightening his grip and bringing Jack closer to him, his familiar chill comforting him as he attempted to steady his breathing again.  
Jack shook his head, shaking away the last remnants of the fog and clearing his mind in time to hear Dagur growl. He moved his head to glance back at the deranged Viking, which took far more effort than it should because his body was feeling strangely disconnected and wobbly, only to have Hiccup grasp him by the chin and drag his face back to his. "What are you doing?" Jack asked, tongue feeling numb and useless. He was confused and more than slightly annoyed, but he couldn't put a finger on why exactly he was so annoyed and that annoyed him even more.

"You can't look at him!" Hiccup told him sternly, and Jack noticed that his fingers were shaking slightly despite his best attempts to hide the fact. "He-His powers make you lose yourself in hatred. You can't let him get into your head like that." Hiccup lowered his gaze, trying to control the tremors that had spread from his fingers down his arms and throughout the rest of his body. Images of Jack as he stared hollowly into nothing, removed from life around him as he became lost in a maelstrom of hatred torment his mind. And the way that Dagur had looked at him when it became obvious that Jack was lost to them, eyes desperate and ravenous, shook Hiccup to his core and sent very real fear pumping through his veins; mingling and tainting the energy that thrummed within, increasing the intensity and ripping away some of his control. Jack shook his head again, frustrated. "Hiccup, how am I supposed to fight him if I can't even look at him?" He asked, irritation still bubbling within him as his body continued to refuse to work properly. "I mean, I can't exactly sit here and let you fight him on your own. You can't beat him without me."

Hiccup stilled, tremors abruptly coming to an end. He raised his head to look Jack in the eyes, something shifting in there for a moment before hardening. He removed his hand from Jack's chin and leaned back on Toothless, thinking carefully, his eyes gleaming with determination.

"Can't I?" He said, unclicking his foot from Toothless saddle and pushing Jack and his foot into his place with the help of a gust of wind. Jack gave a cry of surprise and turned to look back at Hiccup, who had swung his feet over the side of Toothless and was staring straight at Dagur, eyes clear and unwavering.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" Jack asked, though the answer was painfully obvious.  
Hiccup didn't look away from Dagur and his ravenous eyes, choosing not to answer Jack, to the frost spirit's extreme annoyance. Anger and hate and that awful burning feeling that is driving him out of his fucking mind only intensified as Hiccup continued to stare at Dagur and not him.

"Toothless," Hiccup said steadily, determination and stubbornness ringing loud and clear in both parties' ears. "I want you to take Jack to the others. If you can't get to them, land below and stay hidden." He pushed himself to the edge of Toothless's saddle, patting the dragon's side gently when he growled worriedly. "Hey, Hey, I'll meet up with you soon bud, don't worry."  
"Hiccup," Jack said, body still refusing to answer his call and just _**move**_ so he could reach forward and grab Hiccup and end this absolutely ridiculous plan before it began. "You can't do this."  
Hiccup looked back at him for a moment, shooting him a smile that doesn't completely reach his eyes. "Don't worry Jack, just focus on calming yourself down and getting the hate and anger out of your system. And make sure you get your wound taken care of so you don't bleed to death because trust me, that isn't the most fun thing in the world. Once you're alright, make sure to get your lazy ass back and help me finish this, ok?"

Jack shook his head, hand finally moving haltingly towards Hiccup. He could see the lie in Hiccup eyes, hear it in his tone and feel it reverberate through his being as his own heart began to shatter. "Don't—"

"I'll be fine." Hiccup cut him off before patting Toothless's side. He looked up at Jack for a moment more, hand leaving his side and reaching for Jack, as though he was about to pull him close for one more moment before he left. But halfway to Jack the hand stopped before falling back to his side. Hiccup closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, turning away from Jack and back towards Dagur. "Get going Toothless."

Without warning he slid off, falling through the air for one heart-stopping moment before calling up the wind and rising up again. Jack reached out a hand for him, his fingers almost reaching, only to be torn away as Toothless set off towards the wall of sand. "Hiccup!" He cried out as Toothless sent a plasma blast at the sand wall, creating an opening big enough to fly through for only a fraction of a second. They just managed to get through before it closed on the two Vikings, leaving Hiccup and Dagur alone in the deafening silence that followed.

Dagur raised an eyebrow and looked over Hiccup appraisingly, licking his lips again.

"Now that they're gone, we can get down to business, can't we Hic?"

Hiccup looked at him, he could still feel Jack's blood running down his arms with his every movement and it sickened him. If he had just fought harder, snuck away when Jack wasn't looking and confronted Dagur before that message appeared on the globe, then Jack wouldn't have been hurt. But he had gotten greedy, wanting to spend time with Jack, to live in a world that could never belong to him. Because he wasn't a Guardian, he was a sacrifice, the only thing that would stop Dagur from tearing the belief away from children. He had to commend Máni; distracting the deranged chief with the heir of the hooligan tribe that he had been lusting after since they were _seven_? Well played, well played.

He wanted to say that he wasn't bitter, so that he could play the tragic and self-sacrificing hero that threw away his life like it was nothing but a trifle. After all, he had lived a wonderful fairy tail for two whole weeks, and he wanted so desperately to say that he would have been content with just a few hours, so long as he got to spend them with Jack. But that wasn't the case; he wanted to laugh more, he wanted to love more and he wanted to live more with Jack. He wanted to spend more time with him, and he hated himself for his greed. Two weeks seemed like mere nibbles of out the delicious cake of things that could have been. If he had his way, he would have eaten that whole cake, would've stuffed himself full of it until his stomach hurt, just so long as he got to share it with Jack.  
He laughed at himself, "delicious cake of things that could have been", really? Couldn't he have come up with a better analogy? Something that summed up the utter turmoil of emotions that tumbled through him as he stood there, snowflakes coming down harder than they had before; tingling against his skin like that had that day on the mountain ledge with Jack's chilled breath at his neck. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes at the thought of all the conversations that the two would never share, all the jokes and pranks that he would miss out on, and the cold chill of Jack's body against his own as he wrapped his arms around him. But though his heart was breaking just like it had nearly three hundred and three years ago when he discovered he was all alone in the world, he knew that he would rather have this pain than have lived in a blissful, Jack-less ignorance for all eternity.

Hiccup nodded at Dagur. "Yeah, I guess we can."

He sent a bolt of lightning at where Dagur used to be before finding Dagur's face hovering in front of his own. Dagur wrapped his arms around Hiccup and brought him close to his body with a sadistic smile, squeezing Hiccup so hard that black spots danced in his vision and made him gasp in pain. His fingers clawed at Dagur's back and neck, desperate for air. To his relief Dagur released him, allowing him to suck in air like a dying man for a few moments before he pushed his lips on Hiccup's. Instead of fighting, Hiccup closed his eyes and allowed Dagur to deepen the kiss, tongue sliding into his mouth, imagining that it was Jack. He had tried to kiss him before the two had left, tried to pull their bodies together so that he could push his lips onto his. But he had decided against it at the last minute; it would be cruel to leave Jack like that, burdened down by the true extent of emotions that Hiccup felt for him. And if Jack had rejected him, if he had pushed him away with disgust, he wasn't sure if he could stand it, knowing that the last thing thought that Jack ever had about him, while he was still breathing, was filled with revulsion.

A tear gathered beneath his eyelid and slipped down his cheek as he reached down for the connection and gathered all the energy that he could muster within his veins, before releasing it into the sky surrounding them. A maelstrom of lightning bolts descended from the sky and hit the two of them, causing Dagur to shriek in pain and try and pull back from Hiccup, only to be kept in place by Hiccup's grip.

Excruciating pain spread through the both of their bodies, leaping from one to the other and back again, intensifying as it did so. Hiccup struggled hard to keep his mind focused against the pain for as long as possible before the pain became too much.

Tilting his head back, he let out a blood-curdling scream of pain before going limp, the lightning simultaneously ending as the two began to drop to the ground. As Hiccup watched the sky grow further and further away as the wind rushed through his hair. He knew the ground was getting closer and closer, and he felt his heart shudder at the thought of what would happen when they hit.

Choosing to forgo the overcast sky above, he closed his eyes and found himself staring into Jack's blue eyes as his mind ran through their wonderful two weeks. A smile graced his lips at the thought that the last thing he would ever see would not be the horribly hungry eyes of an enemy chief, but the beautiful blue ones of the boy he loved.

And that was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third's last thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello Everyone!  
***ducks as everyone throws whatever objects within reaching distance at me*  
I'm sorry! I know it's been ages since I updated, but I've been really busy with school, and  
some personal issues that have kinda been draining my motivation to write.:(

However, I'm here now, and while this isn't one of my better chapters, I hope that you will enjoy it.  
My fics are, as always, unbeta-d, so I apologize for any mistakes.  
**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own How To Train Your Dragon, or Rise Of The Guardians, those both belong to Dreamworks and **  
**the authors that wrote the books. I am making no money off of this, this is purely for entertainment value.**

* * *

The woods are lovely, dark and deep  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep  
And miles to go before I sleep

-Robert Frost

* * *

It's like a dream; he can see everything that's happening but he feels removed from it somehow, disconnected. He's aware that the emotions he's feeling now are not his own, but are the ones currently pumping through the veins of the sixteen year old Viking before him riding rides his black night fury amid the other dragon riders of the hooligan tribe. He knows because he's quite sure that the Viking before him wouldn't have been overcome with a tinge of desperate longing as he looked upon the familiar faces he was surrounded with. He hadn't known what it was to lose them yet, to be as alone and pathetic as he was.

So he watches as the rider of the night fury and the others descend upon the familiar-looking island, which gains a name in his mind when they begin burning boats and the catapults along with the camp as people rush out of the burning tents and hurry to salvage their weapons in order to beat back an imminent attack.

And they don't have to wait long.

On the shore, he's sees the familiar long boats with the Berk crest painted on their white sails, and he watches as his father and Gobber hop out of the boats with the others and charge towards the encampment, with one war cry turning into thousands. He feels his heart leap into his chest as his father and his tribe meet with the axes and war cries of the Berserkers, quickly becoming lost in a crowd of swinging weapons, blood, and falling bodies. A cry of panic and desperation tears itself from his lips and escapes into the scene before him as he frantically searches for his father and Gobber within the crowd. But even as he searches, the scene before him is starting to pick up speed and blur; vague images parading themselves across his vision and confusing his already frustrated mind.

And then, a yell of panic nearly drowned out by an all-too familiar chuckle of glee reaches his ears and he turns towards the sound, heart leaping into his throat at the sight.  
Dagur has Astrid in his hands, and his holding her by her neck above the ground; as he watches, his friend struggles desperately for air, lips beginning to turn blue.

"ASTRID!" Dual voices cry out in the same tone, shock and horror permeating from both. He turns to see the night fury and it's rider rocketing through the air towards the two, distracting Dagur enough that he loosens his lethal grip on Astrid's neck. Taking the opportunity, Astrid lands a well-aimed kick at Dagur and bites his arm, causing him to drop her with a howl of pain. However, he recovers quickly and wheels around to face her, eyes burning with fury as he raises his ax—

Only to be caught by the night fury's claws and torn away from Astrid faster than he can blink. He watches as Dagur swing himself up onto the saddle of the night fury, the rider turning around to notice his new position. Clicking Toothless's prosthetic into position for standard flying before removing his own prosthetic and turning around to face Dagur, he watches the rider withdraw a dagger of his own from his belt and grapple with Dagur. Their blades clash together and sparks fly as Dagur leers at the rider, eyes flickering and announcing their most dubious intentions for the world to see. He feels sick just by seeing them, and he can imagine what it must be like for the rider to be in such close proximity with them and know that their look is directed towards him alone. He watches as fatigue begins to over take the rider, now just barely blocking the blows that Dagur aims towards him. He watches in slow motion as

Dagur grins and rears back, raising his own dagger and aiming for the rider's, probably planning to knock it aside and render him completely defenseless.

And then, out a nowhere, he see's a black arrow shoot towards the three of them, causing the night fury to swerve to the side in order to avoid it. He watches again in slow motion as the rider struggles to regain his balance as Dagur leans too far forward and ends up hitting a different target.

The rider himself.

The scar in his chest explodes with pain, as though the wound is being inflicted all over again, and with a howl of pain, he finds himself looking up into Dagur's green eyes. He can feel the hot, wetness of the blood as it starts to soak through his clothes and spread down the rest of his body. The blade of the dagger is surprisingly cold in his chest, and every time he breathes, he can feel the blade cutting through the expanding flesh and grating against it; shearing away more of him as his life force continue to spill out of him. He looks up to meet Dagur's eyes and finds himself momentarily taken aback; there is real panic in there, like he's actually concerned for him and is as scared as he is. He notices dimly that there is blood on Dagur's cheek, running down his face like a tear, and he knows it's his own, and that, more than anything is what really drives home to him that he's going to die.

This is it, this is how the last chapter of the story of his life is going to close, with him bleeding out on the back of his best friend and in the arms of his most hated enemy. He stares into Dagur's eyes, watching as emotions that he wasn't sure existed pass through them. The older teen seems to be absolutely heartbroken, and he watches in slight shock as Dagur leans forward and pulls the dagger from his chest, trying to staunch the blood gushing from his being and to keep his life-force tied to him.

Trying to keep him alive.

But even as he watches Dagur's desperate efforts, he knows that it won't help; his vision begins to blur around the edges as a single tear gathers in his left eye and drips down his face and hit's his chest, unable to dilute the blood even a little bit. He can hear Toothless cry out as his keen senses register, above the bloodshed and clashing of weaponry around them, the scent of Hiccup's blood. He can feel him crane his neck to try and see what is happening behind him and then there is a big jolt and Toothless is howling in pain and dropping rapidly in altitude. He watches as Dagur looks ahead of them and his face whitens. He looks back down at Hiccup and Hiccup knows that it is over for all of them, for Dagur, for Toothless, and most defiantly for him.

But the white-hot pain has faded away now, and there is only the warmth of Dagur's arms as he pulls Hiccup close to him and the gentle mist that has rose up from the waves crashing against the rocky shore below. He feels no pain, but everything besides that, as though he is fully connected to the world around him.  
And his last thought, as the darkness overtakes him, and he and his vision fall away from the world, is the image of everyone's smiling faces looking down on him.

And he is at peace.

* * *

It had to be a dream.

It had to be.

Surely reality didn't have the capacity to be this cruel.

He looks at the black sand as it hovers in the air, seamless, as though the hole that had been there not a moment before was never there at all. Dimly, he is aware of voices calling his name in the background as wind rushes by his face, the tips of Toothless's wings flapping in and out of his peripheral vision. His hand is still outstretched, as though if he can just reach forward one more inch, he will find Hiccup's hand within his grasp. His is aware of hands pulling at him, hoisting both him and Toothless onto, what he is vaguely aware of being, North's sleigh. Panic sets in then, because he realizes that just reaching out his hand will not guarantee Hiccup's hand meeting it. He fights against the hands trying to hold him down and keep him from beautiful green eyes, struggling towards the wall of sand in the hopes that he will be able to reach what is on the other side.

The voices belonging to those restraining hands are yelling at him now, shouting vague words that his mind cannot seem to process. He continues struggling against them, even as sand hits Toothless and sends him to blissful sleep, he knows that bliss is coming for him and he hates it. Because he knows it won't be true bliss, only a weak imitation of the beautiful creation, and an insult to its glorious name. He could never accept this imposter of bliss, as it meant giving up the one thing that would lead to true bliss.

Then the sky lights up with a thunderous crack that crashes through the sound barrier that his mind had created. He watches as white light pours down from the clouds above on the other side of that wall and feels well and truly frozen, locked in place along with his stopped heart. And then, a blood-curdling scream rips through the air, louder and infinitely more painful to his ears than the tremendous crash of lightning had been. It shakes him to his very core, horror and pain cascading through his veins even as his mind refuses the revelation that such a sound is trying to force upon him. The sound seems to go on and on, resonating all around him, and piercing his heart and soul, and then it stops. The white lights disappear, making everything seem all too dark in their absence, as a silence as deafening as that scream reigns all around them, Jack's heart begins to pump again, forcing realization through his numb mind.

"No." His lips whisper, a soft accompaniment to Toothless's heart-shattering screech, but whether his whisper is a rejection or a plea is unknown to him. His struggles against the hands continue as more words tumble from his lips; some of them screams of rejection, while others remain pleas to whoever might be listening, imploring them to wake him from this, awful, twisted nightmare. To bring him out of this unthinkable reality and into the one of the last two weeks, where Hiccup had never seemed to be more than an arm's length away.

His struggles increase exponentially at this thought, his screams sharper, his pleas more desperate as the hands try so hard to keep him from his desired destination. Something hits him in the face and he stumbles backwards, blinking away golden dust as his vision begins to blur around the edges; he tries to shake off the feeling that is trying to pull him under with its soft and treacherous hands, extending his own towards the deafening silence once more before his eyes fall closed against his volition and he is pulled into that charlatan of bliss.

* * *

It was dark.

He knew that much.

He was lying on his side, cold cloth underneath him, comforting, though the scratchy material painful. He winced at the feeling and opened his eyes wider in an attempt to survey his surroundings better. Light trickled through from somewhere into the vast expanse of darkness that he was in. He could see an iron wrought globe, more lights out than there had been the last time he'd looked at one. And different platforms, bridges, and stairs that led up or down to them.

He tried to sit up, and pain racketed through his body as thanks for his brave endeavor. His entire body burned and seared an aching fire, and he felt as though his entire body had been flayed, the skin entirely too raw and tender. He lifted his gaze upwards, where he had felt a slight tug on his wrists as he tried to get up, and noted that they were tied with black sand to what looked like the headboard of a bed. He blinked, not quite registering what that meant, his mind too full of pain and confusion to be completely coherent yet. When the meaning finally penetrated through the fog of his mind, his eyes widened and he tugged frantically against his bonds, panic fueling his adrenaline and overcoming the tearing, clawing pain that erupted from his wrists when he did so.

"Oh, if I were you, I wouldn't try that anytime soon."  
He jerked away at the sound of the voice and even more pain exploded through his body, causing him to abandon his efforts to free himself as he gave a cry of pain.  
The voice gave a little moan of mock sympathy and he felt anger creep along under his skin. Panting harshly, and wincing against the pain, he struggled to push himself up and face the voice, only to be pulled upwards by his hair.  
"Oh, come on, I know you're smarter than this, Hiccup." The voice sighed. "Or has all that time with Jack deprived you of the majority of your brain cells?"

Hiccup struggled against the hands that tore at his hair, evoking more pain and causing the hands to tighten their grip. He cried out before giving up his struggle, body too tired and pained to move anymore.  
He could feel the grin as the voice spoke its next words. "Now see, isn't that better?"  
"What do you want?" Hiccup asked, keeping his voice firm amid his harsh breathing.  
"Ah, right to the questions I see, how very Jack-like; don't you want to know who I am first?"  
Hiccup clenched his jaw. "I already know who you are."  
"Oh, really?" The voice didn't sound surprised at all. "Then you won't mind proving it?"

Hiccup closed his eyes, recalling the stories that his father used to tell him when he caught him up past his bedtime or doing something that made Stoick want to tear out his beard (which, in retrospect, was a rather large percentage of his childhood). He remembered the long shadows that had seemed to twitch and twist in his bedroom and the glowing golden eyes that stared at him, refusing to vanish no matter how many times he closed his own eyes and willed them to do so. The conversation that he and Jack had together just a few days ago echoed through his mind as he made his answer.

"You're Pitch Black. The Boogeyman."

The hand in Hiccup's hair loosened it's painful grip and gave him a pat before forcing Hiccup's chin upwards to meet those familiar golden eyes along with a gleaming white grin.  
"Well done Hiccup, I knew you were a smart one."  
"It's not that hard to guess. What with the darkness and the taking me captive and everything," Hiccup replied, "Though I got to say, tying me to a bed? Really? Could you get any less original? Not to mention perverted." Hiccup kept his tone dry, refusing to be taken in again by golden eyes.  
Pitch's smile grew wider. "Now really, is that any way to talk to the person that saved your life?"  
Hiccup raised an eyebrow, hiding the wince of pain he gave in doing so. "I'm pretty sure you're the main reason my life was in danger in the first place."

Pitch removed his hand from Hiccup's chin and waved it in a dismissive gesture. "Minor details, Hiccup, minor details. The point is, that just as you and my partner were about to meet your untimely demise, I grabbed you with my sand and brought you back here to recover." He paused, leaning back down to Hiccup and placing a bony hand on his shoulder, before continuing in a mockingly gently voice. "I saved you Hiccup, which means you owe me a dept."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't owe you anything." Hiccup told him firmly. "I went into the whole, you know, lightning and burning thing knowing that I wasn't going to make it out; actually I was _planning_ on not making it out. So you _saving_ me is kind of an inconvenience, you know, seeing as I'd already prepared the funeral and everything; worked out what flowers were going to be used, what ocean I was going to drift off from, geez do you know how much planning that involved? Hours and hours of my time, all for nothing; so really, if you think about it, _you_ owe _me_ a debt. Don't worry, I don't want much, just let me go and-ARGH!"

Hands tightened around Hiccup's sore arms and he let out a cry of pain, tears gathering in his eyes as Pitch leaned closer to him. "Oh Hiccup, with your smarts, you should know that it's not a good idea to run your mouth around the person who has you at their mercy. But, I'll be lenient and assume it's just another bad habit you picked up from Jack. Remember, you're still recovering from that little maelstrom of lightning bolts you summoned; I imagine it'll be a while before you can even conjure up enough strength to stand on your own, let alone a gentle breeze to cool your burns."  
He let go of Hiccup's chin and drew back up to his full height, looking at the space beside Hiccup and sighing. "My partner, however, is another matter entirely."

Someone next to him also gave a moan of pain, and Hiccup flicked his eye over to see what at first looked like a mummy, but what his mind numbly told him had to be Dagur, wrapped up in bandages that had yellowed with age and give off a heavy musk scent. He glanced down at his own body, splotchy in appearance and covered in a painful, swollen red color, with several blisters littering his skin. He knew from patching up his father's burns, back when they were still at war with the dragons, that the extent of the damage was not as bad as it could be, though the intense severe pain coiling through him would beg to differ, and that given time and the proper care, his injuries would heal.

But the chances of getting proper care from Pitch were getting smaller and smaller by the minute. He flicked his eyes back at the mummified figure across him; at least he had it better than Dagur. With injuries like that, it was a surprise that his heart was still beating.

He felt a stab of pity for the figure before him, so wrapped up in his own pain that he hadn't even noticed that the object of his obsession lay just within his reach. And even once he did, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it in his state.

Above him Pitch chuckled and grabbed Hiccup by the chin again, forcing him to look towards him and sending another jolt of pain through his being.  
"Feeling pity towards your enemy, Hiccup?" He cooed. "What a sweet, compassionate, little Guardian."  
"Anyone with any sense of decency would feel bad for someone who's in that much pain." Hiccup told him shortly. "You haven't even taken care of his injuries properly; isn't he supposed to be your partner?"  
"Big words coming from the person who's the cause of his pain." Pitch said lightly, tightening his grip on Hiccup's chin and drawing a gasp of pain from his lips. "But if were you, I wouldn't worry about him now, you'll have plenty of time for that later; when you're both fully recovered."

Hiccup scoffed and rolled his eyes, ignoring the scream of agony his nerves fired at him as he twisted his features to do so. "Someone I don't think that'll be a problem."  
"No?" Pitch asked, a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips.  
Hiccup shrugged and instantly decided never to that _ever_ again as fresh pain burned through his shoulders and upper back. "I'm _pretty_ sure it'll take a minor _miracle_ for that guy to recover. And as the proverbial good guy in this situation, I've got more important things to worry about. Such as _how_ exactly you managed to get so many children to lose their belief. And what you hope to achieve by doing all this."

Pitch smirked.

"And by telling me this, you hope that I will give in to the _great_ temptation to have someone know the magnificence of my plan and enthrall you with every little detail, so that when Jack comes and saves you like the damsel in distress you are, you two can defeat me together." Pitch replied, a gleam of humor shimmering in his golden eyes.

Hiccup almost shrugged again but managed to force his shoulders to remain still. "Pretty much, except I'm not a damsel in distress, I'm the proverbial hero, remember? Just biding my time, waiting for backup."  
"Isn't that what they all say?" Pitch asked as his left eyebrow rose.  
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not the one wearing the dress here." Hiccup commented, quirking his eyebrow at Pitch, deciding that the momentary pain was totally worth it.  
"It's a robe, for your information." Pitch snapped back, Hiccup's comment obviously hitting a nerve.  
Hiccup pretended to think over Pitch's words for a moment. "Still looks like a dress to me."

Pitch looked like he was about to strangle Hiccup for a moment before he regained his composure and spread a phony grin across his face. Removing his hand from Hiccup's chin, he straightened up and made his way over to an iron wrought globe that was lit up very sparingly with a few small lights.  
"Seeing as you are just _so_ **pitiful**, Hiccup, I think I'll indulge your little "hero" fantasy." Pitch raised a hand and allowed it to ghost over the globe as he spoke, letting silence reign for a few moments before tearing down its regime once again. "But first, you must indulge me. So tell me, Hiccup, have you ever _truly_ hated someone?"  
Hiccup eyes followed Pitch's hand as his mind struggled to understand the question. "Depends; what do you mean by "truly hated"?"

Pitch allowed the tips of his fingers to trace the globe. "I mean: have you ever felt such loathing, such disgust, such revulsion towards a person that, given the choice, you would rather see them dead than wait for them to change?"

Hiccup thought back to his childhood, the disappointed looks, snide remarks, and constant sighs from the adults, as well as the rocks, fists, axes and cruel taunts thrown at him by the other children. Feeling constantly overcome by the feeling of not belonging, of being a disappointment, of not being wanted. There had been the soul rendering pain of not fitting in, of being an outcast that wanted nothing more than to stop being an outcast. He had hated those that shut him out, that made him feel like he could never truly be himself. But to have them die rather than change and accept him for who he was? That…that wasn't what he had felt towards any of them.

He shook his head. "Can't say I have; maybe it's a psycho thing."

Pitch nodded and sighed. "I didn't think you would. You Guardians have always been so perfect, so flawless, so compassionate and so damned _loving_. Frankly, I find it rather _**sickening**_, but of course, no one cares about my opinion." He let out a laugh that tinged on something so dark, desperate and malicious that it made Hiccup's skin crawl. "Well, let me tell you about true hate, my ignorant little Hiccup; it is a marvelous weapon of fear. It dissolves dreams, maims fun, shreds hope, taints memories, and dulls wonder; all of which are important instruments in keeping belief in the Guardians alive." He places a hand over a light on the globe, smiling when he took his hand away to find the light had vanished. "It is an incredible useful tool; after all, you cannot eradicate fear, and hate was born by fear, so in extension, you cannot eradicate hate; wouldn't you agree?"

Hiccup swallowed. "Actually, I think your logic is pretty flawed; never mind your whole 'Fear is unbeatable thing', there's still the fact that no matter how terrifying Dagur would like everyone to think he is, he wasn't 'born from fear'."  
"But _I _created him, _I_ bound his spirit to his body and kept him on this earthly plane." Pitch insisted, a mad gleam entering his eyes. "It was _my_ actions that kept him here, and _my_ blood that woke him from his slumber. And I. Am. _Fear_."

Hiccup watched him carefully, cold dripping down the back of his spine, causing his heart and body to shudder; much to Pitch's apparent amusement.

"So, you get Dagur to go around and fill people up with so much hatred that there's no room left for anything else? Pretty evil, I agree, but I have to admit, I'm still not seeing a point to all this." Hiccup endeavored to keep his tone as even as possible, taking deep breaths to combat the fear that struggled to stick its razor sharp claws deep into his chest. "I mean, how exactly is making the Guardians invisible going to help you resolve your own invisibility issues? You can't really expect me to believe that hate is going to revive people's fear of an old bedtime story from the Dark Ages?"

Pitch's eyes flared, turning into molten gold pits of barely suppressed rage, thirsting to quench their need for vengeance. "There'll be plenty of time to make people believe in me once I'm done dealing with the _**Guardians**_." He snarled the word viciously, full of contempt and overflowing with such waves of anger that Hiccup felt himself physically pushed back against the bed by their force, his burnt skin scratching against the material painfully. "Their demise has to come first; they have to feel what I felt, _trapped_ here by _my own_ nightmares for an _eternity_ of _thirteen years_, times a _thousand_." Pitch spun around, hysterical laughter swirling around with him. "I want to hear their screams meld together in disjointed harmony; I want them to fall to their knees and _**beg**_ me for mercy. And even then, I won't let them go, not until I'm satisfied that they've felt the _**true**_ extent of what I had to go through. The agonizing terror, the crippling pain, coupled with the utterly unbearable loneli—"

He cut himself off, presumably allowing his rant to continue in the safety of his mind, where no unwelcome interloper could happen across the weakness beginning to seep through his carefully planned façade. He was still for a moment, breathing heavily as his eyes watched something that Hiccup couldn't see. Then he jerked his head towards Hiccup's startled green eyes, cocking his head as though he could hear the rapid beating of Viking's heart from across the room; a maniacal and slightly hysterical grin breaking across his face.

Straightening up again, he clasped his hands in front of his chest and made his way towards Hiccup; causing the teen to subconsciously push his body further into the bed, allowing more ripples of pain to run through him. Pitch laughed as Hiccup winced. "And you, Hiccup, I know you'll prove most useful when it's Jack's turn to suffer at my hands. And you've already contributed _so_ much already. Can you imagine what he's feeling like now, not knowing for sure if you're alive or dead? And what he'll feel like when he realizes that you've been here all along, with Dagur and me?" Pitch laughed again, the tiniest bit of vindication for his suffering filling him with a hunger for more. "Though I imagine he'll be too stuck on the fact that you were here unsupervised with _Dagur_ to even remember about little old me."

"Yeah, because being forced to share a bed with a comatose burn victim is _much_ more important issue than being immobilized while a _nut job_ with deep psychological scars paces around the room and grabs my _chin_ whenever he feels like it." Hiccup bit out dryly.

"Hmm, yes, well, I suppose it all depends on what the hate growing within him chooses to focus on." Pitch mused, eyes glinting sharply as Hiccup felt another chill rush down his spine.  
"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked, even as the first whispers of the answer began collecting in the front of his mind.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot that you haven't known Jack for all that long, have you?" Pitch asked mockingly, hands clasped as his mouth dropped in horror. "You wouldn't have been able to notice the slight difference in his behavior since his and Dagur's first _altercation_. But, I'm surprised you didn't put two and two together after Dagur told you the extent of his powers. Or did you just refuse to listen to that little voice of reason niggling at the back of your mind, too focused on the _marvelous_ Jack Frost to accept that there might be something, hmm, how shall I say this, _off _about him?"

Hiccup's gritted his teeth, refusing to answer Pitch and give in to that same little niggling voice that told him that Pitch had hit the mark quite spectacularly.

"Oh, you did notice, didn't you? I wonder, just how many times you had to shove down the thought that he was acting oddly intense, and lacked the mischievous intent necessary for a Guardian of _Fun_."

Hiccup met Pitch's eyes, wishing that glares could kill, and that Pitch would just spontaneously combust in front of him. "That meeting in the woods, wasn't just chance, was it? You _planned_ all that so Dagur could infect him with just enough hate to establish a solid hold, but not enough that his behavior would tip the other Guardians off right away. You wanted him to gradually grow to hate them until—"

Hiccup cut himself off, trying to abate the flow of images that pounded against his skull and made his mind reel sickeningly.

Pitch gave a grin that sent more shivers running down Hiccup's spine. "It seems that you didn't lose as many brain cells in Jack's company as I thought."  
Hiccup gave another shove at the violent images trying to trammel his consciousness and managed to roll his eyes at Pitch. "If you ask me, I think you just signed your own death warrant. With Dagur out of commission and all, the only person who's going to be the focus of Jack's "hate" is you. And now nothing is standing between him and the rest of the Guardians kicking your spirit, consciousness, whatever, back to the shadows."

"Oh, Hiccup." Pitch murmured. "I'm not sure whether to laugh at your ignorance, or pity it." Pitch shook his head and made his way over to Dagur's side of the bed. Holding his arm out over Dagur's body, he made a dagger of black sand appear and, shooting Hiccup another smirk before his did so, sliced his arm with it. Hiccup stifled his cry of shock and watched in horror as blood fell from Pitch's ashen skin in a stream of dark red and landed on Dagur's mummified body. Pitch pulled his arm away and warped it up in dark sand, watching with Hiccup as Dagur's harsh breathing steadily turned deep and peaceful and his whimpers of pain faded away to nothing. Hiccup watched, stunned, as Pitch leaned forward and tore a strip of bandage away from Dagur's face, revealing perfectly healed skin. Pitch drank in Hiccup's numb expression and shaking hands with relish, humming as he dropped the strip of bandage and walked towards the stairs.

* * *

North rubbed his eyes tiredly, as though the light pressure on his eyelids will somehow make the past events of the last day fade away into nothing. So that when he opens them again in a moment, he won't have to see the defeated expression of the other Guardians and the immobile lump of dark scales that is Hiccup's dragon. The creature hadn't moved since they had gotten back to the pole, though that was more Sandy's doing. Upon waking and finding his rider still absent, the creature had let out a desperate keen and tried to escape, flapping his wings uselessly when the contraption on his back failed to extend and help him.

When he realized that his efforts were yielding nothing, he had begun to thrash around, sharp claws scratching the stone floor of the hall as his tail whipped from side to side with enough force to cause a hurricane. Worried that he might hurt himself or the elves that were running around helter-skelter (North privately wondered if all elves were born with this innate ability to constantly be under foot, or if they just got together when he wasn't looking and came up with ways to irritate him), North had Sandy put him out again, making sure to keep him that way until they had come up with a new plan of action. Not a very concrete course of action, as they had to repeat the process several times over the past four hours.

He was aware that the lights were going out at a rapid pace, the feeling of his power gradually being drawn out of his veins a constant tug on the edges of his being; fatigue starting to slip its way through the recess of his mind, trying to seduce him into resting like the old man he was. He knew the others were feeling it as well; Bunny was definitely shorter than he normally was, youth beginning to seep back into his features as his boomerangs gradually became less like deadly weapons and more like a child's toys.

Sandy was in a constant state of drowsiness, his eyes drooping as grains of sand fell from his fingers and landed on the floor in a fine mist. Tooth was reduced to hovering mere inches above the ground, her wings fluttering weakly against her side as more and more of her feathers drifted down to the ground. They had left her sitting by Jack's bedside after they had bandaged him up, attempting to fill roll of the mother that had never gotten the chance to finish her duties.

North had no problem leaving her there, because to be quite honest, he was too busy being glad that he wouldn't be the first person to deal with Jack when he finally woke up. And, to be quite _brutally_ honest, North really, _really_, wasn't looking forward to the moment when Jack awoke.

He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands, wondering how on earth he was supposed to convince Jack that Hiccup would have wanted them to continue on and defeat Pitch, and not let his sacrifice be in vain, when he could still hear Hiccup's earth shattering scream reverberating through the depths of his mind. And when he closed his eyes, on the back of his eyelids lay overlapping images of a younger Hiccup, one that still had a family and friends that hadn't been immortal spirits for more time than they cared to remember.

A Hiccup that had flown carefree through calm, clear skies, screaming and laughing into the wind, but had also flown through the fiercest of tempests, with nothing but sheer will and his Dragon at his side.

A Hiccup that had beaten the Red Death, and gained the respect of his village by being everything that they hadn't thought they wanted, but desperately needed.

A Hiccup that hadn't had various conversations with him about the mechanics involved in making such complex toys with only ice prototypes as reference.

A Hiccup that hadn't shared several chats with Bunny about Jack when they thought the winter spirit wasn't listening.

A Hiccup that hadn't allowed himself to be fussed over by Tooth; pretending that he didn't secretly enjoy being mothered, just that little bit.

A Hiccup that hadn't watched in wonder as Sandy's dream webs stretched across the sky.

He saw a Hiccup who's only knowledge of Jack Frost was that of an Old Norse bedtime story about an ethereal being named Jokul Frosti.

He cleared in his throat again in the constricting silence, banishing such thoughts back to the recess of his mind, wracking his brain for some new plan that would magically fix everything.  
He closed his mouth when this course of action failed for the hundredth time.

And then, this cycle found itself promptly broken by the doors to the hall flying open with a resounding bang, as an extremely irate Jack Frost burst into the room. North turned towards Jack, straightening up from where he had been resting against the railing, and took a few steps towards the teen, whose eyes darted to every corner of the room, searching for someone that they both knew wasn't there.

"Jack." The teen turned towards North at the sound of his name, eyes wide and breathing heavy, glaring at North as though daring him to answer the unasked question burning within him. His entire being felt like it was on fire, his chest an intense inferno, coupled with the poignant strings of agony and loss that pulled at his heart. When only silence met him, Jack let out an impatient noise and flew over to North, hovering just inches from his face as he bit out his next words. "Where is he?"

North gave another sigh and rubbed his temple. "Jack, you know answer to that."  
Jack appeared to stop breathing for a moment before he shook his head vehemently. "You're wrong." He breathed, tightening his grip on his staff in an attempt to try and hide the shaking in his hands. "He…he can't—he isn't…."

"Jack—" Tooth began, half running, half hovering into the room.

"Shut up!" Jack cried, slamming his stick into the stone floor below, unleashing a massive gust of wind and a blast of ice that sprawled across the floor in an extremely intricate and delicate pattern that was a startling contrast to the violent action. His hands began to shake harder even as he gripped his staff tighter, blue eyes burning. He lowered his head and took several deep, desperate breaths, that shook his whole form, in an attempt to steady himself. North and the others watched on as he struggled to regain control of himself, concern and worry shining deep in their eyes.

Tooth in particular, looked the most heartbroken, but then again, that was not to say that the rest of them didn't feel any less than her; she had never been any good at keeping her emotions bottled up and hidden from view.  
Jack finally raised his head, leaning on his staff for support, dark circles under his eyes the only physical evidence that death had begun to cling to him once again, calling him further back into its dark embrace as more and more lights went out.

"He's not gone." He insisted, working hard to keep desperation from clinging to his tone. "He's not…dead; or whatever it is that happens to things like us when we "disappear" or "fade away". He's not."  
"Jack." North waited a moment before speaking again. "Hiccup gave his life to defeat Dagur, to help us win fight with Pitch. It was noble sacrifice, but certain one."  
Jack's eyes bored into North's, his gaze seeming to emit waves of heat that threw North of guard woke a sneaking suspicion where it had lain resting in his mind. A spirit of winter shouldn't be emitting waves of heat…

"A noble sacrifice? What's a _noble_ **sacrifice**? Putting everyone else before you? What's _**noble**_about leaving everyone else behind to pick up the pieces and bury you?" Jack shot back, acid dripping from his tone. "What's noble about letting that bastard—"

"Mate, you need to calm down." Bunny told him, hopping over to where he stood, and gesturing to the thirty-foot tall windows behind him. "You're making a storm almost as bad as the one in '98 out there."  
"Jack." Tooth intervened before Jack could make Bunny into a Popsicle, fluttering over to where he stood and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Jack, I know you're upset, and I _know_ how much this must hurt. We all liked Hiccup, and we're all going to miss him, but we can't let what he did be for nothing. We have to put our feelings aside for now and focus on defeating Pitch. For the good of the children."

If her voice broke at any time during her speech, Jack couldn't bring himself to notice.

He raised his eyes to met Tooth's, the calm, care, and concern that they were emitting managing to cool the burning in his chest, enough that he felt like he could breath again, if it weren't for the poignant ache that resonated deep inside the crevice where his heart should be. The thought of Hiccup calling up that lightning storm in order to protect him from Dagur, and allowing those thousands of bolts to hit him in the process, was enough to make him want to tear Dagur and Pitch apart. And a desperate, pleading part of him, was begging anything that was listening for Hiccup to be alright, was imploring the forces of the universe for the chance to see him again. And still, that dark, burning pit in his chest was screaming and writhing for vengeance, for the chance to take all of this emotion out on Pitch. And if he was honest, the intensity of this burning desire scared him, made the last sane bit of his mind cringe and the several seeds of doubt imbedded there sprout. He wasn't altogether sure if this foreign feeling was ever going to go away anymore…

But Tooth was right, that last sane bit of his mind told him, even as that burning feeling snarled and the poignant ache whimpered pitifully, Hiccup had sacrificed himself so that they could have a shot at defeating Pitch. And he wasn't about to let that sacrifice go to waste, to do that would be an insult to Hiccup.  
And if he was currently coming up with all sorts of violent ways to take revenge for Hiccup once they finally did meet up with Pitch; well, that was nobody's business but his own.

North watched the youth carefully as he met Tooth's calming gaze and gradually lessened his hold on his staff. The explosive anger that they had seen earlier had been calmed slightly, but there was still something there, simmering just below the surface. Something that North suspected could turn their trusted partner into a wild card, dangerous to all around him. As he was now, North was struck with how painfully similar Jack Frost was to a time bomb.

And just like that, he heard Hiccup's voice telling him all about Dagur's powers and the pieces of this puzzle slid neatly into place.

"Sandy." He called, and the spirit of dreams started in his drowsy state and, rubbing his eyes, turned to face him. The others looked at him curiously, no doubt wondering about the plan that they were so sure he had come up with. North jerked a finger towards Jack. "Put Jack to sleep again."

"What the hell?!" The ice spirit cried in outrage, that burning heat flowing off of his body in waves. Bunny looked startled and Tooth turned on North in full-on righteous indignation mode, about to demand to know just what the hell he was thinking, while Sandy met his eyes evenly for a fraction of a second, ever the champion of silent communication, before sending a wave of sand at Jack and causing the teen to slump forward into Tooth's waiting arms.

"North, what are you doing?!" Tooth asked, struggling to hold Jack up until Bunny came over and took him off her hands. "We need Jack to help us defeat Pitch!"

North nodded. "Agreed. We need Jack. But _he_ is not Jack we know and need."

"What do you mean, mate?" Bunny questioned, concern leaking onto his normally mordant expression.  
North gestured to the sleeping figure in Bunny's arm. "Ever since this all began, he's been different. First, I thought it was just Hiccup's arrival, but I think it's more than that. He's been acting slightly different ever since fight with Dagur." He paused, giving them all time to think over his words before continuing. "I think Dagur's hate has infected him like it infected children. But at slower rate, so that we wouldn't notice until too late."

"That way, Pitch could tear us apart from the inside." Bunny muttered, realization dawning on him as anger burst over his features. "Why that little—"

"How do we get him back to normal?" Tooth asked, worry permeating through her entire body. "We_ need_ him to help us beat Pitch."

North stroked his beard thoughtfully, gazing down at Jack's blissful face. "I think it time we gave old friend of mine visit."

* * *

Hiccup had only lain on the bed for a couple of hours or so when he felt Dagur shift beside him with a groan. He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the sounds of Dagur waking up; a yawn, the small pops of bones sliding back into place, and the stretching movements that caused the surface of the bed to dip and rise.

After Pitch had left, Hiccup had spent the few hours that he had trying to come up with a plan about what to do when Dagur finally woke up, with nothing to show for it, and trying not to think about Jack. Whether or not he'd already cracked under the burning pressure of Dagur's hate building within him. He tried his best to ignore the likelihood of this happening, as he lay there, powerless, his whole body _aching _with flares of burning pain (Jack's frost would feel _really_ good on those burns right about now)_,_ to stop it; instead trying to convince himself to take this all one step at a time, but found, unfortunately, that hadn't worked at all.

He felt Dagur's movements stop beside him and he knew that Dagur had finally realized that he wasn't alone in the bed. He took a deep, steadying breath and forced his eyes open, clenching his jaw and drawing up the same resolve that had allowed him to face the Red Death. He felt a calloused hand run over the side of his face and shuddered.  
"Hey Hiccup." Dagur grinned. "Fancy meeting you here."  
"Well, you know, being tied to a bed with a violent psycho in it by another psycho with invisibility and control issues in a dark, underground cavern _is_ one of my favorite pastimes and all." Hiccup replied.

Dagur let out a series of bizarre chuckles, ignoring or perhaps not noticing the biting sarcasm behind Hiccup's words, instead choosing to almost bounce up and down on the bed with glee.  
"Whatever; what matters is that you're here." He let his gaze rest on Hiccup's eyes, a tenderness that Hiccup wasn't used to seeing lingering deep within it. "We can be together now."

Hiccup felt a lump gather in his throat and his mouth went painfully dry; fear pounding in time with his heartbeat as he struggled to find his next words, as well as a hint of confusion. Dagur seemed…different than he had been when they had last seen each other. He seemed, calmer, less full of rage and hate than he was before; but then again, maybe that was because he finally had what he wanted. "Dagur-"

"It's ok, Hiccup, you don't have to explain yourself to me, I understand. You and Jack, that was just a mistake, it's not your fault; you didn't know that I was alive; if anything it's my fault. I just…I had so many plans to make with Pitch and even though that was boring as hell, and tedious and I nearly threw my dagger at him several times and I thought constantly about finding you, but there was just so much to do and—well, none of that matters now does it? Now that we're together again we can—"

"We were never together _before_!" Hiccup cried out wrenching his body away from Dagur and scooting up to the headboard, oblivious to the ripple of pain thrumming through his body. His head was pounding, his entire body was throbbing with a painful burning sensation, and he was thoroughly sick of hearing this shit, of sitting there and letting Dagur believe that the two of them were a match made by Frigga. Dagur needed to have exactly that Hiccup thought of him shoved through his thick skull, once and for all.

"You-you _decimated_ everything that I ever cared about and put everyone on Berk through a brutal war; all because you wanted me to come back with you and be your-your-_Odin knows what_-and _so many people_ that I knew and-and _loved _lost their _lives _because of this-this _obsession_! Just-just-_stop_ already. Why do you—what have I _ever_ done to convince you that I—that I_ liked_ you? Let alone lov—"

"SHUT UP." Dagur roared, gripping Hiccup by his shoulders and shaking him roughly. Hiccup couldn't help the cry of pain that slipped past his lips as his upper body writhed with another jolt of fiery agony. Dagur stilled instantly, coming back to whatever senses he had left, though he still shook visibly, his face a complex mix of rage and hurt. "Shut up." He bit out again, his voice and fingers shaking heavily. "You…you love me. I know you do." He raised his gaze to meet Hiccup's, desperation tinting his green irises. "So, just…just say it."

Hiccup stared back into him, looked into his eyes and saw something raw and painful and unhinged gleaming back at him, a desperate need to be loved. There was definitely something different about Dagur. The previous one wouldn't have allowed himself to show Hiccup weakness, he would have just laughed manically and ordered and taken whatever he wanted. He wouldn't be sitting there with his hands on Hiccup's shoulder's, practically _begging _for his help in sating craving that had never been fulfilled when it wasn't his duty to make sure it was; and even when it was his duty to so, he had lacked the learning process that had taught those around him to love from a young age, cementing the reality that his craving would never be sated. Hiccup felt his heart tug painfully; certain now that Dagur hadn't ever known real, honest, warm, love and he pitied him.

He pitied him, but he could not forgive him.

He could not forgive the screams of children, adults and dragons alike that had haunted his dreams for the remainder of his human life, and sometimes played behind his eyelids and snuck into his mind even now. He could not forgive the years of a life that would have been his, years with his father, with his friends, and with Toothless, that were lost to him now. And he could not give him what he wanted, no matter how hard he screamed and clawed and howled. He was asking for something that couldn't be produced with a simple snap or sweet words; he was asking for true and honest affection to sate his starved soul. And that was simply something Hiccup was unable to give. But for some reason Dagur thought that he could, and Hiccup felt confusion and curiosity hum through his veins as he truly wondered, what it was that he had done to make Dagur care so much for him, and when exactly that caring started. And maybe, with the way Dagur was now, he might be willing to open up enough for Hiccup to get his answers.

"Why do you care what I think about you?" Hiccup asked, watching Dagur's reaction carefully, preparing for explosive anger to answer his question.  
Dagur closed his eyes for a moment after Hiccup's question, rocking back and forth slightly and taking in deep breaths to steady himself. Hiccup waited patiently, watching and listening carefully. It was lucky that he did so, because otherwise he might have missed the beginning of Dagur's words, his voice a far cry from the deafening, boisterous yell that it normally was.

"It's...you see...it all started with my mother." Dagur began carefully as Hiccup looked on in disbelief, shocked in the change that had overcome Dagur since his lightning bolts had hit him. "…she died giving birth to me, and it broke my father's heart. He…he really loved her, and after her death he tried to bury everything that reminded him of her. And he managed to get rid of everything, except for me.

And…and he never said anything, that was part of the problem really, but I could tell that he resented, but not _hate_, someone like Oswald the _Agreeable_ could never _hate _anyone, me for taking her away from him. And the other villagers, they weren't any help at all. Berserkers are raised to be fierce warriors, with no room for pity or mercy for their enemies or a comrade that's weaker than them. So no one had any sweet words, or condolences to give me when I needed them, and no affection to spare from the little they were allowed to show without being seen as weak. No one ever…ever laughed kindly…or smiled softly at or around me. It was all harsh words, and cruel smirks, and derisive laughter, everywhere that I looked.

And I grew up like that, believing it was normal to shove those soft feelings deep inside you until you didn't even know that you had them anymore, or that you'd ever had them. But part of me still ached for my father to look at me, to _really _look at me. So I went berserk. I did whatever I thought was crazy enough to center my Dad's attention on me. And when that got a response, I thought about even crazier things to do. And that was normal for me.

But then I came to Berk with my Dad and I saw how you all acted. How everyone walked around with a smile to spare for everyone that they met, how kids ran and played with violent undertones but with laughter ringing out around them, how the whole island seemed so warm despite the cold compared to my village, and I _hated_ it. And I hated you all for being so happy, so complacent, with peace, for not feeling a boiling in your blood at the very thought of living your lives without any bloodshed and war to excite your life.

So I took it out on the kids of the village, the ones that laughed and ran around and had enough love from both of their parents or guardian to spare. I took it out on the trees, the sheep, and the boars, anything that reminded me of your island and its skin crawling, peace."

He raised his gaze to Hiccup. "But then I found you."

Hiccup swallowed, trying to digest everything that Dagur had said before he started again.

"You were sitting on this rock, in the middle of the forest, sketching, and you had this smile on your face. It was so soft, and warm, and genuinely happy that I was transfixed by it. I wanted…I wanted someone to smile at me like that. And I thought…I thought that maybe…that _you_ could smile like that at me someday."

There was a heavy silence that lay like a pall over the two of them. Hiccup struggled to take in the air required for his next words, his heart made even heavier than the air around them as the weight of Dagur's words, and the weight of his own that were still to come, settled down inside it.

"Dagur I…I can't." Hiccup said quietly, shaking his head slightly despite the twinges of pain. "It's just…I can't feel that way towards you. The kind of feeling that you're asking for…it isn't something that you can just turn on and off at will. It isn't created out of nothing, you have to give and take and give it the chance to grow on its own."

Dagur stared back at him and Hiccup watched as what was left of the other teen's spirit shattered before him. He felt another stab of pity for the marred remains of Dagur's spirit before him. It had been chained to his body for so many years, and brought back with the blood of someone so corrupted with malice and hate that any tender feeling had been shocked out of it temporarily. And in the end, after Hiccup's lightning bolts and another dose of Pitch's blood was through with it, it was nothing but a broken, painful mess of what it used to be, lying in pieces inside the pretense of a flawless body.

"But I want…" The hoarse reply slipped out of Dagur's lips and into the deafening silence. "Please…"

Hiccup shook his head.

"It's no use. The things you've done, to me and everyone else that was and is important to me…I can't forgive you for them."

Dagur's eyes began to dull, a broken whisper leaking past his parted mouth.

"Please…"

Hiccup swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry." Because someone had to say it, someone had to be sorry for the fractured and twisted life that Dagur had lead, the perilous knife edge that he had balanced on, never finding more than a moment of true peace, happiness and love to linger in. Someone should apologize for what had started him on that dark, and deadly road. And there was no one else besides him who knew, and pitied him enough to do so now.

So he did.

As he finished his words, the light left Dagur's eyes completely and his grip on Hiccup's shoulders fell away as his body slumped forwards, breaking away into billions of tiny, grey-blue particles before he could fall into Hiccup. The particles hovered there for a moment, and Hiccup was filled with a deep sense of loneliness that seemed to cling to everything around him, before the particles faded away gradually before his tired and slightly watery eyes.

* * *

**So, I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for any mistakes I made.  
**Thank-you for all your reviews everyone, I'm glad that you liked the story so far  
well, before this chapter I guess, not sure how many of you will like it now...gotta say,  
this isn't my best chapter ^^; but it shall get better, that I promise.  
Delph1762: (I'm using google translate with this, so forgive me if the french is really bad)  
Merci pour votre commentaire. Je suis désolé que votre famille a continué à vous soucier lorsque vous vouliez lire! Mais je suis très heureux que vous avez réussi à le faire. :) Et je suis vraiment content que je vous ai fait rire, faire rire les gens est l'une des meilleures parties de l'écriture. J'espère que vous avez apprécié ce chapitre, merci pour la lecture!  
Sakurasapprentice7: Thank-you for your review, yes the possessiveness was intentional. It was meant to signal that Jack hadn't managed to get off of his fight with Dagur, quite so unscathed as previously thought. Though my personal head cannon is that Jack has a bit of a jealous streak, I mean, he's been alone for so long that he's probably going to want to hold tight to the connections that he has right?


	7. Chapter 7

Dear lord, it has been ages hasn't it my compadres?  
I know what your thinking, something along the lines of: burn the witch! Amiright?  
I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to update, but here it is:  
The finale chapter of Change~! BD *celebratory music plays in background*  
So yeah, I hope you guys enjoy, and thank you for sticking with me for so long ^^

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, How To Train Your Dragon, or The Guardians of Childhood books; a few characters from which do feature in this chapter. This is purely for fun not profit. All rights to their respected owners.**

* * *

How terrible it is, to love something that death can touch  
-Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Pitch was, unsurprisingly, not all that happy at his minion turning into pixie dust.

Hiccup remembered with smug satisfaction the way Pitch's grin had slipped from his face and fallen away into a look of pure fear, tinged with slight horror, as he glanced from the empty space on the bed to the iron wrought globe that was once again full of millions of tiny lights; it helped him deal with the sand ropes around Hiccup's wrist as they tightened to the point that, even though the majority of his burns have healed, (one of the many (only) perks of being an undead immortal spirit) he found himself throwing his head back as a cry of pain was torn from his lips.

More sand twisted over his body, squeezing just as painfully as the one around his wrists, making it difficult for Hiccup to breathe properly, and bringing visions of his worst fears. The majority of which included watching his family and friends dying mere inches away from his outstretched fingertips. For example, he watched as Toothless plummets to the ground, unable to fly without Hiccup on his back, he saw Dagur kill Astrid just before he could reach her; Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, Gobber and his father all killed during the battle the second that his eyes left their figures.

And he saw Jack, drowning in the lake again, his hands desperately clawing towards Hiccup, towards the air that lay just out of his reach. He saw him falling from the sky, blood spreading over his blue hoody and blue eyes slowly falling closed. Hiccup struggled to keep his own eyes open, feeling them watering but refusing to allow Pitch the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Pitch's gleaming golden eyes entered his vision and Hiccup sent him the most cavalier look he could manage.

"That…the best you got?" He asked. "Cause if so, let me just tell you this _sand _is absolutely _terrifying_. Really, just, kudos to you."

Pitch waved his hand and the sand around Hiccup's chest tightened again, making him choke out his current breath and struggle to take in his next one, as he watched Toothless die over and over again in the dragon arena.  
"How did you do it?" Pitch hissed, and Hiccup could tell he was struggling to keep his confusion and slight panic from his voice.

"He should have been tied to Hate, become the _embodiment_ of the force." When Hiccup didn't answer, Pitch clenched his hand and the sand became impossibly tighter, cutting off Hiccup's air flow for a few moments, before he relaxed it and allowed Hiccup's body to suck in air greedily. "How did you manage to put him to rest?"

"It wasn't so hard." Hiccup said, a smirk blossoming across his lips. "And, seeing how easy it was for me to get rid of hate, I can't imagine fear will be that much harder." He cocked his head and pretended to look thoughtful. "But, you've probably already come to that realization, haven't you? That's why you're so scared."

He snorted. "Fear itself, afraid of something; Well, I guess history really does repeat itself."

He had one brief moment of satisfaction at the unsettled look that came over Pitch's features before he schooled them into submission and clenched his fist again; causing Hiccup's body emit another cry of pain as Jack slipped below the icy surface once again.

* * *

The first thing Jack was aware of, as a cacophony of noise, light, and shapes assaulted his senses, was the absence of the heat that has plagued his body for so long. It was like a grievous wrong within himself had been righted, his core back to its normal glacial state of being, not tormented by hungry flames that had licked and writhed around it. He let out an involuntary sigh of relief, allowing his eyes to fall closed for the moment while he gathered up the strength to fully tear himself away from unconsciousness's grasp. Then with a groan, finding that his body was quite sore, he pushed himself up and opened his eyes, blinking until everything came into focus; so it was only after a few minutes that he became aware of a gentle but firm hand placed against his chest.

"Jack?" He blinked once again, and Tooth's worried face swam into view. "How are you feeling?"  
He swallowed, running hand through his hair, before offering her a grin. "Like I just went ten rounds with Phil and lost each and every one."  
Tooth's face relaxed at his joking tone, though it remained slightly pinched.  
"Welcome back to the land of the not-living, mate." Bunny's dry tone made it's way into Jack's ear and he turned his head to take in the rest of the room, noticing North, Sandy and Bunny watching him carefully, with equal expressions of worry tangled with relief adorning their faces.

"Hey," He said, offering the same grin he had to Tooth to them. "What did I miss?" He looked around the room; it was piled high with books, stray pieces of paper, and weird and wonderful bottles of all shapes and sizes full of neon-bright colored liquids. The walls sloped, slanted and twisted in such a way, that almost made it seem like they were on the inside of a tree. "Where are we?"

Before anyone could answer him, the door at the floor side of the room opened with a small creak, and an old man with a beard long enough to reach his knees wearing a fur lined blue robe and a tall, pointy hat fit for a wizard swept into the room. He stopped upon seeing Jack sitting up and a smiled spread across his wizened face.  
"Ah, Frost, glad to see you're awake." He moved over to where the shelf containing the bottles of neon-colored liquids was and began bustling around, tipping several of them into an empty beaker, mumbling strange words under his breath as he did so.

"Yeah, me too, um…" Jack watched North and the others carefully out of the corner of his eyes, taking in the way they had all straightened up slightly (except for Bunny, but Jack was pretty sure that his body was stuck in a permanent grumpy slouch) when the blue wizard had walked into the room; North most of all, which was surprising enough in itself. "No offense but, who are you?"

"Ombric Shalazar." The old man replied, not stopping his work for a moment. "Founder of Santoff Claussen; here drink this." He swept across the room and, despite Jack's protests, tipped the frost spirit's head back and poured the liquid down his throat. Jack spluttered around the taste, which only someone with taste buds of steel could manage to keep a straight face over, while Ombric muttered more strange words under his breath and waved his hands over Jack's body.  
"The hell was that?" Jack coughed out, rubbing his throat and silently morning the fact that his appetite was now ruined for the next hundred years.

Ombric ignored him and turned to face North. "That will take care of any residual traces left within him. But if he relapses, make sure to bring him back immediately."  
"Thank-you, Ombric." North replied, eyes shining with gratitude and something that Jack could only describe as veneration. "Your help is greatly appreciated."

"We all must stick together if we are to defeat Pitch," Ombric told him solemnly before smiling wryly. "Though I'm afraid my age makes me not as useful as I used to be in battle; so if I must sit out on the sidelines, the least I can do is this." He laid a wrinkled hand on North's shoulder, strong grey eyes holding North's gaze firmly. "Do not hesitate to ask for my help Nicholas; it is there whenever you need it."

"Would someone mind telling me what it going on?" Jack demanded, finally managing to shove the memory of the taste of the potion to some deep, dark corner of his mind that he vowed never to visit ever again.

"Jack," North gestured to Ombric, "This is Ombric, he is founder of village we are in now, and my mentor." He shot Jack a look that told warned him to instill some respect into his features. "You were poisoned by Dagur's hate, so we brought you to Ombric to ask him to heal you."  
"It was no trouble." Ombric insisted, smiling slightly. "Like I said, this is the least I can do."

"Hold up; Dagur's hate?" Jack murmured, rubbing a hand over his face and searching for a face to put to the name. "Who—"

And then it all came crashing back into him with all the force and careful grace of a tidal wave.

Hard green eyes that seemed to emit waves of unbearable heat, paired with sharp pointy teeth behind cruel lips pulled into a smug grin; combining in his mind like a jigsaw puzzle to form a figure practically radiating ill intent.  
Another pair of green eyes, with a face doted with freckles and small smile swam into Jack's mind of well, with some vague sense telling him that the lithe body contained enough sarcasm and dry wit to match him evenly.

Though that hadn't been enough to save him from the lightning that had tore him apart.

Jack turned to look at the rest of them, noticing that the improvement in them that had taken place while he had been sleeping. Tooth's feathers shone with their regular beauty, her wings translucent and standing as strong as they had ever been. North stood tall and proud, his normal strength and wonder back in his blue eyes. Bunny looked as tall as he had ever been, with that undercurrent of grumpiness that never quite seemed to go away; but at least his boomerangs were back to being weapons of mass destruction and not children's toys. And Sandy's features held far more awareness and his eyes were no longer in a constant state of drooping.

Jack swallowed heavily, realization dimming his eyes and settling down as a deep ache in his heart. "So," He said, trying to keep his tone even. "Hiccup's really gone then." The words felt torn from his lips, as though it had taken more from him than just a little breath to force them out into the open.

"No, Frost, he isn't."

Jack's head jerked towards Ombric, who was staring at him with a small, knowing smile that made Jack unsure of whether to leap across the room and demand answers or try and beat down the hope that flared so cruelly in his chest. "What?"

Ombric drew up a stool with a wave of his hands and sat down, folding his hands over his lap before fixing Jack with his steady gaze. "You see, Jack, when the Man in the Moon creates spirits, he fixes them with a strong center that keeps their energy grounded, which in turn ensures a tighter connection to the force that they embody. It is a delicate and precarious procedure that no one other than he has managed to accomplish successfully."

"Well, no offense, but Pitch seems to have figured out that particular company secret." Jack pointed out dryly, only stopped from rolling his eyes by a sharp look from North.

Ombric simply smiled, and continued on. "If you would have let me finish than I would have told you that the closet anyone has ever come is what Dagur was an example of. Despite my looks, I am more than just a doddery old fool, you know." He winked and let out a small chuckle. "Not all of us can be immortally young frost spirits."

Jack was about to point out that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, as the job requirement was _**drowning**__ in a __**frozen lake**_, when Tooth nudged him not-so-subtly and shot him a stern look. Reluctantly, he closed his mouth and waited for Ombric to continue, drumming his fingertips against the wood siding of the bed and sending frost patterns all along it.

And maybe pouting, just a little.

Luckily, Ombric paid no mind to his antics and continued on as though there had been no interruption. "Dagur was an example of a spirit tied to his body and brought to life by part of another's essence, in this case, Pitch. This, though certainly managing to make him powerful, meant that he would rely on Pitch for the energy required to keep his form grounded."

"Wait, I thought that Dagur was like the embodiment of hate, or whatever." Jack protested. "How could he have messed with people the way he did if it was just Pitch's…essence, or whatever, he was feeding off of?"

Ombric looked thoughtful. "Well, I suppose He was an embodiment of a hate in a way; just not _the_ embodiment of hate. Seeing as the energy was coming from Pitch, it's safe to assume that the type of energy he was receiving was of a more sinister nature: hate, jealousy, rage and a whole plethora of other dark emotions were probably pounding through his veins, with no common sense or light emotions to balance him out."

He sighed. "One has to almost pity the poor boy."

"He slaughtered Hiccup's family and friends in order to drag him back to his village and lock him away as his personal sex slave." Jack pointed out, jaw tightening. "_Pity _isn't all that high on my list of things I'd like to give him."

"If feeding off of Pitch's energy kept Dagur here," Tooth cut in smoothly, "Shouldn't he technically be virtually indestructible as long as Pitch kept feeding him regularly?"

Ombric shook his head. "Even if Pitch had been regular in feeding Dagur his essence, the moment that his tormented spirit managed to find peace, or lost the will to continue, the ties holding him together would be severed and he would depart from this world. Which, judging by how fairly uncomplicated it was to remove the hate from Jack's core," Here Jack swallowed the remark that it didn't sound fairly uncomplicated to him with another not-so-subtle elbow from Tooth, and _damn_ her elbows _**hurt**_, "Hiccup must have managed to accomplish."

A spark of pride thrummed through Jack's veins along with the crushing relief that crashed through him at the first vestige of proof that Hiccup was _**alive**_.

A bittersweet smile came to Ombric's lips as a sad sort of twinkle appeared in his grey eyes. "But for Hiccup, and all of you, that cannot happen; even should your spirit's find peace or lose the will to continue, you are tied too tightly to this world, to the point where you have almost become the forces you embody. Such is the way with every spirit created by the Man in the Moon, and only those created by the him; with the exception of Pitch, that is."

"So you see," He finished, rising to his feet once more, this time with a softer smile accompanying his crinkling eyes. "Hiccup, like the rest of you, cannot die and therefore is still among the non-living. Which I believe means that you have a rescue mission to mount."

The hope that had blossomed so pitifully in Jack's chest at first had grown into a garden rivaling that of Eden while listening to Ombric's words.

Hiccup was **alive**.

Jack felt himself relax for one blissful moment as the thought filtered through his mind, before fear and worry invaded it once more.

Hiccup was alive, but he was still with _**Pitch**_; who Jack would have given anything to be next to right at this moment so that he could give him a piece of his mind, and then pull Hiccup into his arms so he could ascertain that his sarcastic damsel was all right for himself.

And then there would be victory kisses.

Lots and lots of victory kisses.

Because if he closed his eyes he still clearly see the way that Hiccup's fingertips had reached out for him, eyes glimmering with withheld affection that could rival that of the one Jack kept hidden away within his chest, only to have their owner pull them away at the last moment; like he was scared of shattering something so terribly breakable.

Now, Jack Frost was _many_ things, (and the nature of those things differed depending on who you talked to (but Bunny doesn't count as a reliable resource because Jack is fairly certain he's still kind of pissed about the last blizzard he created on Easter Sunday) but he was proud to say that terribly breakable was not one of them.

And as soon as he had that utter nitwit of a Viking in his arms, he was going to set about proving it.

Jack swung his feet over the side of the bed, pulling himself to his feet despite Tooth's protests. He straightened himself up and shot the other Guardians and Ombric a grin. "Well, looks like we've got a stray damsel in need of rescuing." He picked up his staff from where it leant against the bed, twirling it between his fingers as its familiar frost crept back along it.

"Lucky for me, I happen to have a little bit of a thing for green eyed, freckly, sarcastic, damsels."  
North chuckled while Bunny rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Lovebirds." Tooth smiled and emitted a small cooing sound (that Jack had no doubt would've made Hiccup blush a thousand different shades of red) while Sandy grinned and formed the same image of Jack carrying Hiccup bridal style (complete with the tux and wedding dress) that he had back in that clearing.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Thank-you all for your opinion on my love life, now if we could hurry up and get on with the saving? I'm sure Hiccup is contemplating filing a report against our status as heroes, seeing as it's taking us so long to get to the actual _saving_ part." The words, while meant playfully, belayed a pain and guilt that Jack didn't dare dwell on for too long, for fear that it might plague him more than it already did. He knew that it wouldn't go unnoticed by the other Guardians, and wondered momentarily once again at the fact that he had let these people so close that they could read him more easily as he could. But thankfully, though they must have been aware of the worry coursing through his veins, the other Guardians made no mention of it.

* * *

Pitch growled, frustrated, as he paced back and forth at the foot of the bed while Hiccup lay back and tried to remember how to use his vocal cords besides soft whimpers, loud gasps and strangled cries.

He had to hand it to Pitch, guy could certainly come up with lost of different_,_ dare he say_ creative_, scenarios for Hiccup's loved ones to die in. He flicked his eyes open to his wrist, still rubbed red and raw from his struggles against the sand restraining him, but no longer blistered and red like a burn. Flicking his eyes down the parts of his body that he could see, he noted with satisfaction that they had returned to their normal pale and freckly appearance.

He closed his eyes, breathing deep and seeking out the connection eagerly, desperate for some semblance of control over the situation before him. When he felt it flare to life beneath his skin, allowing energy to thrum through him, he swallowed his sigh of relief, so as not to attract Pitch's attention; who was actual less and less like a spirit of fear and nightmares and more like a neurotic bordering on a psychotic breakdown.

An idea springing to mind, Hiccup focused on his wrists, making sure to keep an eye on Pitch's increasingly frantic figure, letting tiny charges of electricity bubble up from within him and begin the process of gradually wearing away the ties at his wrist. He was almost halfway there when Pitch turned towards him suddenly and he let the charge fizzle out immediately, holding back a groan of frustration. The more-than-slightly-mad spirit of fear didn't seem to notice, merely strode over to the side of the bed and grasped Hiccup's chin, sharp nails digging into his skin and sending tiny rivulets of blood trickling down his neck; causing the autumn spirit to wince at the pinpricks of stinging pain while attempting to maintain a steady glare.

"How. Did. You. Do It." Pitch bit out, and his gleaming eyes held more than a hint of lunacy in them.  
"That desperate to book a one way trip to particle land?" Hiccup asked, cocking his eyebrow and giving Pitch one of his best smirks.

Pitch dug his nails in more and Hiccup struggled to get away from his iron grip, using this as a distraction to fire more electric jolts through his restraints.

"Why are you so desperate to know, anyways?" Hiccup asked, hoping to keep Pitch's attention away from his wrists. "What is it that you're so afraid of?"  
"That is none of your concern." Pitch told him shortly. "Now tell me how you did it."

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, if you're so desperate to know, I just told him that I didn't fancy being his little paramour, and there was nothing in the world that he could possibly do or say to change my mind; and after that he just kind of…burst."  
Pitch snarled. "Do not play games with me, Hiccup; I am more powerful than—"  
"Than I could ever imagine;" Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I got that the first few _**thousand**_ times you said it, thanks."  
Pitch snarled. "Surely, you have the brainpower to comprehend what it is that you've done? What position you put yourself in?"

"Guess you were right about all that time with Jack killing my brain cells." Hiccup told him, smirking.  
"You have sent a spirit twelve hundred and thirteen years in the making to rest, and undid all of my hard work to keep him on this plain in the process." Pitch growled, nails digging in impossibly harder. "And not only did you lose me my most valuable ally—"

"Technically, he was your only ally." Hiccup pointed out.

"You also have the gall to tell me that you can't remember how you did it." Pitch continued as though he had not spoken. "Proving to me that you are quite literally no use to me, and as such, a burden that I wouldn't feel required to bear any longer were it not for the indisputable fact that your presence here will draw Jack Frost and the Guardians to me in a futile attempt to rescue you like the poor little damsel that you are."

"Pretty sure that my sending your buddy to particle land just blew my damsel status out of the water." Hiccup protested.

Pitch, acting as though Hiccup hadn't spoken, leaned down so that their faces were only inches apart, mad amber eyes staring hauntingly into hard green ones. "Whereas if you would just tell me how you did so, you would prove ultimately more useful than Dagur ever could have been in destroying the Guardians. Think about it; we could have a beautiful partnership together, the world bowing at our feet, everything Hiccup Haddock and Pitch Black, and all you have to do, is tell me how you sent Dagur to rest." He cocked his head and shot Hiccup a shockingly fake grin. "What do you say?"

Hiccup regarded him for a moment, mulling over his words in his head, and listening to the whispers calling up to him through the connection before answering.

"You're lying." He decided, eyes strong and unwavering in their decision.

"Am I?" Pitch questioned.

"Yes." Hiccup told him, definitely, with no room whatsoever for argument. "You don't want to know so that you can destroy the Guardians, and you definitely don't have any plans to partner up with me to do so."  
"What makes you say that?" Pitch asked, his voice holding a hard, granite edge.

"You're scared," Hiccup told him, and the whispers, which were soft, sweet, and lulling as they shared their information with him, and for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that if moon rays could sound like something, than they would sound like this, calling from the connection spoke with him. "You're scared of what I did, what I can do, of what it'll do to you, of how I can _change_ you, like I did to Dagur. Of how I can pull apart everything that ties you together and reshape or revert you to what you were before. That's what you're most afraid of, isn't it, being what you were before?" The whispers breathed a name into his mind, offering him up images of a man who had led armies valiantly and fought against evil with all of his strength and heart. "Of being Kozmotis Pitchiner again."

The effect was immediate.

Pitch's eyes widened and he released Hiccup's face, stumbling backwards at the sound of the offending name and cringing inward for a moment, before his eyes hardened and rage brought him back to his full height, as shadows and sand danced a macabre dance around his truly frightening form.

"The insolence of youth these days," Pitch hissed, eyes glowing terribly as the shadows filled the room around them, the sand around Hiccup's wrists tightening and strengthening as they crept towards him. "Thinking that they know everything, thinking that they are all _**so**_ much better than those around them." Hiccup reached desperately for the connection, planning to throw them all back with a gust of wind, only to have Pitch appear at his side and place a hand over his heart, fingernail digging into the scar and causing Hiccup to cry out in pain.

"Well, let me inform you of just how much you know about me, my dear Hiccup, before you can entertain any kind of notion that you are any better than me." A wicked, deranged grin spread across his features and Hiccup struggled valiantly for control against the wild fear that clutched at his heart. "I wasn't lying about the Guardians coming to rescue you, you know. They'll be here soon enough, that is, if they manage to get past my little surprise." He ran a pale grey hand down the side of Hiccup's face and drank in his shudder like a man dying of thirst.

"Though I must confess, I do hope that at least our dear Jack manages to make it through." He leant down to whisper in Hiccup's ear, giving him a clear view of the writhing shadows behind him. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he bursts in here, so intent on saving you, and then realizes that it's too late; and the only thing he can do is try and save _himself_ from **you**."

He pulled away from Hiccup with a cackle and, with a wave of his hand, allowed the shadows to fall upon Hiccup; watching as they ate away at everything the autumn spirit was, spreading their taint all the way down to his core. They continued to blanket him, filling him with his worst nightmares and fears until screaming was the only thing that he had left.  
Pitch giggled slightly and walked away, humming to himself as he went on his way to make sure that his first surprise would be ready for the Guardians when they arrived.

* * *

Jack stared at the curled up dragon on the floor of North's sleigh and raised an eyebrow at the other Guardians, which was then accompanied by said dragon's small snuffle before curling tighter into a ball. "I see what you mean," Jack said, shaking his head slightly in mock horror. "He really is truly terrifying."

Bunny snorted. "You weren't there where he almost took out several elves and North's front window."  
Tooth fluttered past Jack and knelt beside Toothless, running a hand over his head soothingly and smiling slightly when he nuzzled into her touch. "Poor guy, I don't think he's been apart from Hiccup for this long in a quite a while."  
"Tell that to all the traumatized elves back at North's place," Bunny rolled his eyes at North, though Jack noted that he still wasn't making any movement to get closer to the sleigh, "Hope you've got enough goodies to pay for all the therapy they're going to need."

North chuckled and climbed into the sleigh, gripping the reins with his hands and waiting as Jack and Sandy both hopped aboard. When Bunny still made no move towards the sleigh, the other Guardians turned to look at him expectantly. The Easter bunny crossed his furry arms and regarded the sleigh as dispassionately as he would one of Jack's blizzards on Easter Sunday.

"I still think it would be faster if we travelled through the burrows." He protested stubbornly as multiple eyebrows were raised simultaneously.

"Bunny, just get in the sleigh." Jack said. "You're kinda hindering the big rescue mission here; and _everyone_ knows it's not as intimidating if we don't all arrive together in one big bang."  
Bunny grumbled something that was no doubt some mutinous objection to Jack's idea of a heroic rescue of mass proportions, and raised his leg slightly as though preparing to go through the burrows anyway before North reached over and pulled him into the sleigh; snapping the reins before Bunny could do anything other than splutter in protest, to Jack's great amusement.

With another whoop of glee from North, they were up in the air and sailing away from the forest surrounding Ombric's home (which actually _was_ a **tree**. A really _special tree_, apparently, but still…a **tree**?)

North reached into his cloak and murmured quietly to it before throwing it forward and watching with the rest of them as it exploded into an array of swirling colours before forming an image of the woods next to Burgess.

Later on, Jack will look back at that moment before they entered the portal and marvel at how everything seemed to slow down; giving him enough time to take in the strange, uneasy tranquility that they experienced before crossing through and finding themselves knocked straight out of the eye of the storm and hurtled into the storm itself.

He will remember the way that Tooth's wings caught in the light, making them look translucent and unbearably fragile, a stark contrast to the hard determination stuck firmly to her face. How Sandy's face mirrored hers, cracking his knuckles and wiggling his fingers slightly, as though he already had an idea of what would be waiting for them once they crossed over. He remembers Bunny clutching tightly to his boomerangs as he tried to get a hold on the sickness causing his stomach to roll so harshly. Jack had looked forward to North, though he would never admit it, for some last bit of reassurance before it was too late for even fake hope; clutching his staff just that little bit tighter and forcing down the impulse to shut his eyes tightly before they crossed over, and it was too late to do anything but fight.

And then they crossed over, with the familiar twisting sensation and that was that.

If only.

As they entered the chilled air surrounding Burgess, a maelstrom of black shapes sliced through the chill and hurtled towards them with loud whinnies and guttural snarls. Jack, caught off guard by the sheer animosity that their mere presence emitted, froze for a few moments before blinking away his shock and forcing his body to react.

Raising his staff, he sent several bolts of ice at the dark shapes currently assaulting them from all sides, realizing that they were Pitch's nightmares coupled with hundreds of what looked to be the dark version of Tooth's fairies, along with, quite literally, thousands of dark twisting shapes, that Jack's mind could only identify as shadows, that darted around nearly every blow aimed towards them and rushed the Guardians; causing Jack and the others to nearly lose their balance several times.

"What the hell are these things?" Jack called over to the others after firing another blast of ice at a too-close-for-comfort-dark-shadow-tooth fairy-thing.  
"Fearlings." Tooth called back over her shoulder, from where she had delivered a harsh punch to one of the shadows darting around her. "Don't let their appearance fool you, they're just like the nightmares."  
"Pitch hasn't tried this trick out since the dark ages." Bunny threw in, catching his boomerang before tossing it another nightmare. "He must be feeling the heat."

North sliced through another few nightmares with a loud war cry and Jack's attention was dragged back to the matter at hand. He continued sending bolts of ice into the onslaught of dark creatures writhing around them, frustration mounting as they just kept coming in droves.

"They're too many of them!" Jack shouted above the ceaseless growls, snarls, and harsh trilling that encased them from all sides. "We're never going to get through at this rate!"  
"He's right." Bunny called back and, were the situation even a smidgeon less dire than it was (as it was he almost did anyway), Jack would have asked for that in writing. "We need a new plan."

"Jack!" North hollered over the conflict. "Take Toothless and go on ahead, we will clear way for you and join you when we can."  
Jack hesitated for a moment before shaking his head vigorously and firing another ice bolt at a shadow who had gotten too close to Tooth, as Sandy took out one that had gotten to close to Jack with his golden dream sand. "I'm not leaving you guys; you need all the help you can get with these things."

"Jack, you need to get to Hiccup." Tooth told him, taking a moment to twirl like a tornado through an oncoming cloud of black shapes, her wings serving as swords to break apart the nightmares. She flew back to the sleigh and landed beside Jack, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "We'll be fine." She turned back to the nightmares with grim determination. "Now go." She told his firmly before twisting through the mass of black shapes again. He stared after her and around for a moment, his whole being fraught with hesitation, before Bunny snapped: "GO!" at him and he jumped into action.

He shot a blast of ice onto Toothless' face and the dragon shook off the last of Sandy's dream sand with a snort, opening his cat-like eyes and regarding Jack with surprise at first; before his eyes seemed to fully recognize who was before him and they hardened, a growl rising out of the back of his throat as his hackles raised menacingly. Jack threw his hands out in surrender amidst the guilt that shot through his body; Toothless' reaction was more damning than any thought that had crossed Jack's mind since he had awoken, which was really saying something.

"Yeah, I know, I screwed up. I lost you your rider and I'm fairly certain you don't want to be anywhere near me right now." Jack scratched the back of his neck. "Well, actually I'm fairly certain you want to burn me to a crisp first," Jack shook his head. "But that doesn't matter; what matters is that we get to Hiccup and help him out, and if we're going to do that, I'm going to need your help. I mean; nothing gets more kickass than a dragon, am I right?" Toothless' hackles lowered and Jack felt a rush of relief. "Right, so I'm going to need you to trust me, just until we get to Hiccup, all right?"

Toothless' eyes seemed to search his for a moment, before apparently finding what they looking for and offering his back reluctantly to Jack; who breathed a "thanks" and hoped on, putting his foot through the mechanism connected to his tail and nudging Toothless gently with his thighs. Toothless craned his head back and shot him a look before jumping off the sleigh. Jack caught a flash of fluttering wings as Tooth shot past him and cleared away all the shadows that had blocked the way in another hurricane-force spin.

Toothless, animal instincts kicking in quickly flew through the opened that they had been given, with Jack blasting away any wayward shadows, fearlings and nightmares that tried to cross their path. They made it away, with only a backwards glance from Jack, who turned to look at the other Guardians and only caught of glimpse before the shadows swallowed them up again.

Clenching his teeth, he turned back to the forest ahead and nudged Toothless (hopefully) in the direction that he wanted to go; managing to get him to land near the edge of the lake without much (read: a lot) of difficulty. Sliding off of Toothless' saddle, he gave the dragon a friendly pat and received a glare in return for his troubles, so he inwardly resolved never to try that again. He turned towards the forest and, after checking that Toothless was following him, began walking towards where the entrance to Pitch's lair had been before it had been sealed up when Pitch had been dragged down by his own nightmares.

He hadn't been walking long when the cries started.

Toothless' ears had pricked up before he let out a steady rumble of growling that confused Jack until the tormented cries began to caress his own ears.

"Jack." Hiccup's voice breathed, managing to sound desperate and accusing all at once. Jack clenched his fists and followed where the cries seemed to be coming from, already sickeningly familiar with this particular song and dance. With each step, the cries seemed to grow louder and more desperate. By the time he reached the broken-down bed with the gaping hole beneath, Hiccup's voice had been reduced to nothing but a shrill scream and Toothless was full out snarling behind him. Jack raised his stick and broke through the bedframe with more strength than was strictly necessary, but seeing as there was no one here but Toothless to see and Jack rather believed that Toothless and him were agreed in that they both were willing to go to rather violent lengths to get back their freckly companion, he didn't really care.

Jack looked at the hole and back at Toothless, unsure if the dragon would be able to fit through, when the dragon rushed past him and shot a plasma blast at the hole before diving down it. Jack peered down for a moment after he had done so, but couldn't see anything past the length of his arm, so after a moment he gave up checking to make sure that Toothless had made it through and dropped down himself; allowing a small sigh of relief to escape his lips when he landed next to his scaly friend in Pitch's lair and not on top of him in the middle of a dark tunnel. Jack looked around him, noting that the whole lair was shrouded in darkness, leaving only the area they had landed in lit and the staircase that lead down to the old iron-wrought globe.

"Hello, Jack." Pitch's voice crept into his ears and Jack felt his whole body stiffen and he jumped up and spun to face towards where the voice had come from. Pitch was leaning against the iron-wrought globe, inspecting his finger nails and acting for all the world that Jack was nothing but an inconvenient and incredibly irritating fly that had buzzed through his front door just when he wanted nothing more than to lie back and relax; and that simple action managed to make Jack's skin crawl and his fingers clench his staff a fraction tighter.

"I wasn't really expecting you to show up just now, thought that you'd fight to say with your beloved companions for a bit longer before you abandoned them in favor of your little damsel. But, well," He glanced over at Jack and smirked. "Love makes us do the strangest things, hmm?"

Jack raised his staff threateningly, shoving down the guilt and irritation that threatened to break through his barely collected exterior. "Where is Hiccup."

"Straight to business then?" Pitch drawled; sounding slightly bored despite the mad gleam that had taken up residence in his eyes. "Pity, I was hoping for a chance to talk like civilized individuals."  
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure "civilized individuals" don't bring back completely deranged Vikings from the dead in order to plunge the world into fear and hate." Jack replied, not lowering his staff.

"Well, I suppose not, but tell me Jack," Pitch mused, pushing himself off the globe and resting his head in his hands thoughtfully. "Do civilized individuals turn people into thousands of particles whenever they upset them?"

Jack clenched his teeth. "Where is he."

"You know," Pitch continued as though he hadn't heard him. "I wonder what Dagur could have said to get him so upset. Or rather," a wicked grin spread across his features as he fixed Jack with a knowing look. "What he could have _done_."  
"Pitch." Jack warned, his knuckles going white from where they gripped his staff as Toothless snarled beside him. "Tell me where he is."

Pitch frowned for a moment, as though he had been expecting Jack to react a different way entirely to his news, before understanding flooded his face and malevolent storm clouds brewed in his eyes. "Ombric." He snarled under his breath and Jack felt a brief rush of smug satisfaction on the look on his face before Pitch snapped his gaze back to Jack.  
"You want to know where Hiccup is, Jack?" He hissed, drawing his hand back in a sweeping gesture that blew the darkness on his left away to reveal a small bed with a corpse-like individual occupying it, with shadows writhing in some sort of macabre dance around it.

A corpse-like individual, Jack realized with his heart in his mouth, which had far too many freckles for his liking.

"Hiccup." He breathed. "Hiccup!" He called, running towards that far too still figure, only to be stopped by the swing of Pitch's scythe. Toothless made a similar attempt and was also knocked back by the scythe, but he managed to land on his paws with a harsh growl.

"Ah, ah, ah." Pitch told them sternly, "I'm afraid you can't see him just yet, Jack. After all," his wicked grin was plastered back on his face. "He's still a work-in-progress at the moment."  
"What did you do to him?" Jack demanded, pushing himself back to his feet and glaring at Pitch.

"I gather that you must have met some of my fearlings when you first arrived?" Pitch asked, and when Jack's glower was the only response he got, continued on. "Well, Hiccup, here is going to be joining their ranks very soon." He sighed with mock pity. "And unfortunately, Jack, there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Jack looked past him to Hiccup. "Hiccup!" He called desperately. "Hiccup, wake up!"

"It's useless, Jack." Pitch cackled, attempted another strike at Jack with his scythe, causing the pale youth to jump back. "Why don't you focus on me for now while we wait for Hiccup to join the party?"  
Jack let out a war cry and sent an ice bolt at him as Toothless opened his mouth and let out a plasma blast. Pitch deflected both and took another swing at Jack which he avoided by jumping up and over Pitch before sending another blast at Pitch; which was deflected, but Pitch was unable to turn in time to deflect the plasma blast that Toothless sent his way, leaving him open for another one of Jack's ice bolts. Pitch doubled over, but recovered quickly and knocked Jack back into the side of the cave.

With a groan, Jack pulled himself to his feet, taking a moment to glance over at Hiccup; who was still laying so still that, despite what Ombric had told him, Jack couldn't help but wonder if he really was a corpse.  
_Hiccup_, He found himself saying silently, _I don't know if you're deaf or just sleep like a log, but I kind of need your lazy ass over here; so wake up already would you?  
_

_**Please.**__  
_

Having made his silent plea, he jumped back into the fray with another well-aimed ice blast at Pitch._  
_

* * *

_It was dark._

_And the darkness was terrifying.  
_

_Fear held his heart in an iron grip and stifled the air in his lungs, as though the darkness was drowning him, weighing down his lungs and causing him to drift down into its inky depths, away from light and air.  
And as the darkness drowned him, it reached for his, trying to fill up more than just his lungs. It was as though it was trying to corrupt him, pull him apart at the seams until everything that he was melted away into the darkness; until he and it became one._

_The feeling of something trying to rend him asunder was horrific, like a thousand different hands were grabbing for him and trying to tear off pieces of his very being._

_He felt frozen, like a statue, unable to struggle against the hands as they tried to tear him apart, and a deep, dark, part of him wished that it was over already; that the darkness would just pull him apart and drag him away from everything. But it was never ending, his form held together under the relentless attention of the darkness, refusing to separate, his center strong and vibrant; refusing to let him change.  
_

_A voice called to him through the blackness, tone pleading, and he felt like screaming. _

_How could anyone expect anything from him, lost in this darkness as he was? _

_What more did they want from him? _

_Couldn't they see he had nothing left to give?  
_

_He felt as though he was going mad, mind being pulled and scratched at from so many different directions until there was nothing but the barest shreds of his sanity remaining. He wanted to open his mouth and scream, but whenever he tried, arching his back to let out a fierce howl of frustration and rage, the darkness swarmed his mouth, trying to weigh down his lungs even more and pushing back his scream as well.  
_

_And then, amid the darkness and clawing and tearing at his will and sanity, came the whispers, soft and deft, pulling him down away from the black inky depths and into a center of light and warmth. They caressed him; soothed over the rips and tears in his being and melded him back into one whole form. _

_From outside the safe confines of the warm circle of protection that surrounded him, the darkness hissed and churned angrily, as all its hard work was made inconsequential before it. In response, the circle emitted a pulse that blew the darkness away; out of sight, and out of mind.  
_

_He let out a sigh of relief and curled up in the center of the warmth, content to lie there and let his eyelids slowly droop down.  
_

_**You should rest a while.  
**_

_Yes…rest…rest sounded nice; now that the darkness was no longer clawing at him, having been dispelled by this gentle light, rest was finally possible.  
_

_**Don't worry, you'll be safe; won't let them hurt us.**__  
_

_Hiccup felt his eyes flicker closed as he curled into the warmth surrounding him, protecting him, and let out a small sigh of relief before fading into the light._

* * *

Pitch slammed into the wall opposite him, and Jack took a moment to catch his breath while Toothless fired another plasma blast; that Pitch only just managed to avoid. Jack cursed in frustration before dodging another one of Pitch's scythe swings. Suddenly, movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention and his gaze snapped over to where Hiccup had lain; panic flaring through him when he noticed that the bed was now empty.

Pitch followed his gaze and grinned at the sight, directing a smug smirk towards Jack before throwing his head back and letting out a peal of hysterical laughter at the look of panic and fear on Jack's face.  
That laughter was swiftly cut off though, as he glanced over Jack's shoulder. Pitch's eyes went wide with shock and he stumbled backwards, fumbling for the wall behind him. Jack spun around to follow his line of sight, and was greeted with the sight of Hiccup standing a few steps away from him; his hazy emerald gaze locked on Pitch.

Relief burst through Jack's chest and he felt his knees go slightly weak at the sight of Hiccup standing tall and firm just an arms length away.

"Hiccup." He reached forward for him, only to pull his arm back at the last moment, surprise and a sinking feeling beginning to settle in his stomach. Hiccup hadn't made any move towards him; or even acknowledged him. He just stared straight ahead at Pitch, eyes dull and far away as he began to walk forward. Toothless padded carefully up to his side and head-butted his hand, trying to get his attention back on him; and Jack could tell that the dragon was as unsettled as he was.

"Hiccup." He tried again, louder, but the dragon trainer and autumn spirit still made no move to acknowledge Jack, or even indicate that he had heard him.  
"What…what are you?" Pitch asked, shaking slightly despite the rage that he instilled into his voice.  
Hiccup raised his hand, eyes gleaming as energy unlike anything that Jack had ever seen before gathered in the palm of his hands, before breathing one word:

"Change."

The energy flew from the palm of his hand and struck Pitch, causing the spirit to throw his head back let loose a cry of rage and pain that made Jack wince slightly. The shadows around them because to writhe and shudder along with Pitch's howls and shaking form, and Toothless let out a low growl, hackles raised; but Hiccup simply stood there and watched as Pitch shook under the force of his power. But his face, completely devoid of any emotion, frightened Jack far more than any kind of power ever could. Finally, Pitch threw off the energy blast, managing to knock it aside with his scythe, before falling to his knees.

Panting harshly, he glanced up at Hiccup and Jack with overwhelming fear practically flooding off of him. The darkness around the room began to slither towards him and he let out a pitiful whimper that dragged evoked the tiniest of slivers of pity from Jack.

"No…no…not again…_please,_ **no**!"

Despite his pleas, the shadows converged upon him, intoxicatingly drawn to the delicious scent of his fear, blanketing him and his cries from them. Darkness swirled all around them on its way towards the delicious fear that beckoned it, pouring down the tunnel that Toothless and Jack had travelled down, and Toothless began another steady stream of growling, nudging Hiccup again; continuing to do so with increasing urgency when Hiccup's hand remained listlessly by his side.

"Hiccup." Jack called, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder and shaking him. "We need to get out of here."

Hiccup didn't move.

"Hiccup!" Jack snapped, fear beginning to twist his stomach into knots, and he knew would soon attract the attention of the dark shapes writhing all around them.

Still Hiccup didn't move.

Cursing, Jack wrenched Hiccup back and threw him over his shoulder, running back to the entranceway to Pitch's lair and shooting back up it into the chilled night air, Toothless scrabbling up behind him.

* * *

North let out another war cry and sliced through yet another fearling, his voice beginning to grow hoarse. Behind him, Tooth's wings fluttered weakly, straining to keep up their sword-like attributes and slice through another wave of shadows. Sandy's movements were weighed down with fatigue as he continued to orchestrate his strands of golden sand all around them, and Bunny was looking decidedly more queasy by the second.

_Mani_, North thought as he struggled to see the moon past all the writhing blackness, _any chance we could get a little help here?  
_

The thought had barely crossed his mind before North heard an inauspicious groaning from behind him and the sound of someone falling collapsing to the side of the sleigh and retching. North let out a sigh and prepared to leave his back open in order to cover Bunny, when all the shadows around them twitch and reared backwards, pulling away from the sleigh before streaming back the way they had come.

North watched them go for a moment in shock, before turning back to face a decidedly green, but no less surprised, Bunny and letting out a jovial laugh.

"Now," He said, sheathing his swords with a twinkle in his eyes. "Aren't you glad we took sleigh?"

* * *

Once they back above ground, and a good distance away from the entrance to Pitch's lair, Jack slid Hiccup off of his shoulder and set him back on the ground; though he kept his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. More for his comfort that Hiccup's, who was still staring straight ahead, eyes dull and distant.

"I know we didn't exactly part well last time, but the least you could do is look at me." Jack joked, but his voice was fraying at the edges. Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's side, perhaps driven by the same feeling in Jack that ached to bring Hiccup in close and never let him go; but Hiccup just kept staring ahead, unmoving and uncaring.

He looked like he had that day at North's when Hiccup had first called down the lightning, when Jack had watched as his face emptied of all emotion, eyes dull and mind too far away for Jack to reach. North had later told him that for a moment, the force at Hiccup's center had noticed his emotional distress and had taken over in an attempt to protect him. And Jack was fairly certain that was what had happened when Pitch had attempted to turn him into one of his fearlings.

And if this was just like what had happened up by the pole, than Jack figured he should be able to snap him out of it like he had that day.

"C'mon, quit it with the whole short, dark and silent act, it doesn't suit you." He shook Hiccup slightly, but he remained as motionless as before. "Hey, I got something pretty important to tell you, and I would prefer that you were conscious while I did so." He heard Toothless let out another whimper as Hiccup continued looking straight ahead and choked out a sob of his own.

"Hiccup." He called again; bringing his hands up to cup Hiccup's face and tilt it slightly in an attempt to get him to meet his eyes. Panic was flaring within his chest again and he felt tears of frustration and loss begin to well up in his eyes despite his best effort. He drew Hiccup into his arms, pulling him tight against his chest and resting his head in the crook of his neck.

"Hiccup, please."

Hiccup simply stood there in his arms, as listless as a doll, and Jack felt the (_useless,_**_ useless_**) tears begin to slip down his cheeks as he buried his face in the crook of Hiccup's neck.

Then, unseen to Jack, Hiccup's finger twitched slightly as awareness began to filter back into his green eyes, lighting them up with confusion and wonder as his hands moved to clutch at the blue material of Jack's hoody; causing Jack to still instantly.

"Jack?" His voice, muffled, but entirely his own, reached Jack's ear and Jack felt his whole body sing with relief. Toothless let out a happy yip and head butted the two of them, causing them both to nearly lose their balance and topple over; drawing an exhausted laugh from Jack that only served to confuse Hiccup further. "Toothless?" Hiccup pulled back from Jack's embrace, freckled brow furrowed in confusion as his eyes darted from side to side. "What's going on? Where are we? Where's Pitch?"

"Hiccup." Jack breathed, thumb moving over Hiccup's lips as he drank in his disheveled form like it was the most beautiful thing that he'd seen in a very long time.

"Jack, are you all right?" Concern scrunched up Hiccup's face and he cast his gaze down to where Jack had been stabbed, placing his hand over the spot gingerly. When Jack didn't respond, Hiccup cast his gaze back up to him, stepping slightly closer at he peered at his ice blue eyes, "Jack?"

Jack finally answered by crossing the distance between them and pressing his lips against Hiccup's in an urgent, but soft kiss that left Hiccup's head reeling from shock. He moved to pull back after a moment, worried when Hiccup simply stood there, unmoving under the gentle pressure of his lips, only to have Hiccup entangle his hands in Jack's hair and pull him down for a soul-searing kiss that made Jack's head spin when they finally broke apart after a couple of head-butts and grunts from Toothless.

They stared at each other for a long moment, before Hiccup finally spoke.

"You should have done that way earlier." Hiccup complained, taking a moment to give Toothless a hug and a pat behind his ears, all while pouting slightly, and Jack laughed. When North and the others showed up, he was busy alternating between chuckles and kisses as he sat on the ground with Hiccup held tightly in his arms and Toothless curled around them, none of them quite ready to let go _just_ yet.

* * *

_One Month Later  
_

"I see you buried all of my leaves." Hiccup grumbled, as he stuck out his tongue to catch the snow falling from the air around them. Jack shrugged as he leant on his staff, smiling. "Had to be done Hiccup, besides," He created another snowflake with a twirl of his fingers. "Snow's prettier than some old leaf any day."

Hiccup shot him a look and rolled his eyes. "Yes, frozen water is _much_ prettier than intricately painted leaves; how _could_ I think any different." He tossed another snowball for Toothless to catch, smiling slightly despite himself at the look of seemingly never-ending surprise on Toothless face when it came apart in his mouth again.

Jack leaned back off of his staff and hooked the crook around Hiccup's waist, tugging him backwards with a slight yell of surprise and into his waiting arms. "Glad you agree." He leant down and pressed his lips to Hiccup's; enjoying the way Hiccup's already chilled skin dropped down another few degrees as he kissed back.

After a few moments Jack pulled away and nuzzled Hiccup's neck, causing a flush to rise up in the autumn spirits cheeks. Jack smirked. "You know, I wouldn't have thought the Guardian of Change would be able to complain about _change_."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I don't recall anything in the pledge to become a Guardian saying otherwise; besides," He turned to look at Jack with a wry grin. "Someone's got to back Bunny up whenever you decide to throw random blizzard parties on Easter Sunday."

"Hey!" Jack laughed. "Whose side are you on?"

"The one that doesn't bury my hard work in layers of frozen water." Hiccup shot back.

"Oh, how _will_ I make it up to you?" Jack murmured, before leaning down and pressing his lips to Hiccup's again, smug satisfaction flickering to life in his chest when Hiccup kissed back just as enthusiastically.

"That's a start." Hiccup told him after they'd pulled back, eyes glimmering with barely contained laughter, a smile playing around the corners of his lips. He snuggled into Jack's blue hoody, allowing Jack to wrap his arms around him and bring him closer to his chest. They stayed like that for a few moments, watching Toothless spin around and create mini-snow cyclones with his wings and tail.

"What happens when Pitch pulls himself back together?" Hiccup asked quietly.  
Jack let out an "hmm" sound and twirled another couple of snowflakes off of his fingers and towards Toothless before answering. "Simple, we kick his ass back to his deep dark lair, just like last time."

Hiccup craned his head to fix Jack with a raised eyebrow. "_Just like last time_?"

"Alright, maybe not exactly like last time," Jack conceded, tightening his grip on Hiccup ever so slightly. "Preferably with a greater amount of ass kicking as opposed to getting our own asses kicked. And with a lot more of this." He lent down and kissed Hiccup again, grinning against his lips as Hiccup hooked his arm around his neck and pulled him down deeper into the kiss, snowflakes falling gently all around them.

* * *

And that's all folks!  
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the story.  
3 A fool who thinks herself wise


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